Expansion remains in the thoughts at Liverpool Airport but no plans are currently in place.
Officials from the consultative committee at Liverpool John Lennon Airport (JLA) admitted that hopes of increasing the footprint at the Speke site hadn’t evaporated despite increased pressure over the environmental impact.
Robin Tudor, public relations manager at JLA, told a meeting of airport stakeholders on Friday that while “expansion is in our thoughts” there were “no plans to expand in the short to medium term.”
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The Consultative Committee is the forum in which the management of Liverpool John Lennon Airport interacts with public agencies, businesses, residents, councils and airport users on a range of environmental and other issues.
Mr Tudor’s remarks were prompted following a question from Stephanie Thompson of Liverpool Friends of the Earth, who asked the panel if Liverpool Council should pass a resolution to halt its support of the airport and “set up an independent professional assessment of the impacts of additional air pollution on community health in Speke-Garston?”
Mr Tudor said in any potential expansion, the airport would submit an environmental impact assessment of its own as part of a planning application.
The debate surrounding the airport's future continues to intensify as the city wrangles with the competing issues of post-pandemic economic recovery and the climate crisis battle.
Liverpool Council members agreed to instruct its cabinet to undertake an “evidence based review of all council policies and plans relating to green space and the environment” alongside a report “detailing the process for, and consequences of, removing all financial support from LJLA.”
This was sparked following an initial motion from Green Cllr Anna Key, calling for all authority funds supporting the airport to be scrapped entirely.
At a meeting of the full council in January, Climate Change and Environment Select Committee chair, Cllr Lena Simic said: “Let’s be clear, nobody wants airport expansion” while Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram said earlier this month that a balance must be struck between attracting investment and “ambitious net zero carbon targets.”
Mr Rotheram said the debate over the airport must not be allowed to become a “binary choice between protecting jobs and reaching our climate objectives.”
Reports to Liverpool Council on the airport are expected in the coming months.
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