Aviation Strategy

Written evidence from the Royal Town Planning Institute (AS 70)

Introduction

The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) is pleased to respond to the call for written evidence to the Transport Committee to examine the Government's aviation strategy, focusing on aviation capacity in the UK.

The RTPI is the largest professional institute for planners in Europe, representing some 23,000 spatial planners. The Institute seeks to advance the science and art of spatial planning for the benefit of the public. As well as promoting spatial planning, the RTPI develops and shapes policy affecting the built environment, works to raise professional standards and supports members through continuous education, training and development.

The views in this submission follow consultation with the members of the RTPI, and specifically the members of the joint RTPI and Transport Planning Society (TPS) Transport Planning Network. This Network has a wide and varied membership with experts in the full range of transport modes represented.

Submission

1. What should be the objectives of Government policy on aviation?

a. How important is international aviation connectivity to the UK aviation industry?
b. What are the benefits of aviation to the UK economy?

1.1 International connectivity is clearly of great importance to the UK aviation industry, but to turn the question around, international connectivity for the UK economy and UK Plc is the most important benefit from the UK airline industry. Connectivity has been crucial to UK business for centuries because of the UK’s geographic position and the need as an island nation to export, in order to achieve continued growth.

1.2 The location of airports needs to be considered as part of a much wider set of considerations so that their lin ks to housing and jobs and their considerable impact on surface transport and the shape of a whole region can be properly assessed. Airports are hugely important to the areas in which they are located, for example Heathrow Airport is a major employment generator in outer west London and is integral to the local economy. Similarly smaller regional airports can also be vital to local economies.

c. What is the impact of Air Passenger Duty on the aviation industry?

1.3 No comment.

d. How should improving the passenger experience be reflected in the Government’s aviation strategy?

1.4 Passengers are likely to be concerned with door-to-door travel, so the location of airports and the quality of the surface links to them from a variety of departure points within a region are critical questions. For far too long (until the early 1990s) Government was content to allow airports to expand with little interest in the impact on surface transport. Only recently for example has the issue of the connectivity of Heathrow Airport to anywhere other than central London received serious interest.

1.5 Airport location can also be an opportunity to invest in surface transport as a means of not only meeting air passengers’ needs but also in solving regional transport challenges. The same investment may achieve a variety of functions, but only if wider considerations are taken into account.

e. Where does aviation fit in the overall transport strategy?

1.6 It is questionable whether an overall transport strategy exists, and this is a deficiency which should be addressed by Government. In the absence of an overall policy however, the combination of current strategies for various modes might be considered as a proxy for an overall transport strategy. An aviation strategy should be aligned with these other modal strategies. It is for example difficult to gauge the overall business case for high speed rail or the question of runway capacity in South East England in a situation where the Government’s intentions regarding modal split for short haul journeys are not clear.

1.7 It should be stressed however that even with a ‘transport strategy’ embracing all modes; great care should be taken to ensure that transport investment performs a variety of purposes. It is not enough simply to plan to meet air and other capacity deficiencies; it is also necessary to use transport investment in order to achieve wider goals such as the provision of additional homes and jobs in the right places. Aviation investment and the necessary surface transport improvements it requires are an excellent way of doing this.

2. How should we make the best use of existing aviation capacity?

a. How do we make the best use of existing London airport capacity? Are the Government’s current measures sufficient?  What more could be done to improve passenger experience and airport resilience?

2.1 No comment: as a professional Institute it would be inappropriate for us to make comments on specific projects and cities.

b. Does the Government’s current strategy make the best use of existing capacity at airports outside the south east? How could this be improved?

2.2 No comment.

c. How can surface access to airports be improved?

2.3 See response to earlier question (para 1.4&1.5). The impact of airports on regional connectivity is far too important an issue for surface access to be regarded in solely aviation terms. Improvement to surface access should form part of a transport plan which has a number of other aims, such as increasing the amount of housing land which has good transport access, and meeting the needs for sustainable freight transport especially by rail.

2.4 In terms of housing, the difficulties faced by housing developers in meeting the costs of transport infrastructure, the absence of much public funding of access to housing land and the seriousness of the housing crisis nationally mean that transport infrastructure for airports is a key potential element in meeting the country’s needs for homes and jobs.

3. What constraints are there on increasing UK aviation capacity?

a. Are the Government’s proposals to manage the impact of aviation on the local environment sufficient, particularly in terms of reducing the impact of noise on local residents?

3.1 No comment.

b. Will the Government’s proposals help reduce carbon emissions and manage the impact of aviation on climate change? How can aviation be made more sustainable?

3.2 Emissions data relating to international aviation could be made more transparent and be included as part the UK Emissions Statistics published by the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

c. What is the relationship between the Government’s strategy and EU aviation policies?

3.3 The relevant EU policies include those relating to airspace, emissions trading, noise mapping, slot regulation, competition, bilateral agreements and passenger rights. In most cases, UK Government policy is aligned with these although there are examples where other EU countries do not appear to have the same enthusiasm for full implementation as the UK (e.g. noise mapping). There are also examples where the EU seeks to resolve issues in some countries, which are not a problem in the UK where competition is generally stronger (e.g. ground handling).

4. Do we need a step-change in UK aviation capacity? Why?

a. What should this step-change be? Should there be a new hub airport? Where?
b. What are the costs and benefits of these different ways to increase UK aviation capacity?

4.1 Given the importance of airports to their local regions, it is felt that wider social and economic factors need to be considered when making decision relating to aviation capacity. An integrated approach to aviation growth is supported, including coordinating aviation with infrastructure and new housing.

4.2 Decisions on airport capacity need to be taken in connection with the following considerations:

· Policy on modal split for short haul journeys to neighbouring countries in the UK, Ireland and Europe

· The contribution airports can make to regional economies

· The contribution investment in surface access can make to unlocking land for homes and jobs and to solving other transport challenges.

19 October 2012