01 Feb 2012, 5:08 pm
BAA's decision to sell its homes in Stansted will have an impact on the debate about south east London airport capacity and make the topic an important issue in the upcoming London Mayoral election, planning and aviation law expert Jon Riley of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said.
BAA bought most of the homes following a Government white paper which proposed an extra runway at the airport in 2003. The homes sit where the proposed runway would have been built, or in areas where noise from the new runway would have been excessive.
"The debate on south east airport capacity has ratcheted up again by a couple of notches," said Riley. "With London First vocally joining the debate on airport capacity on behalf of business, it seems set to become a key issue for the Mayoral election."
"We know where Boris [Johnson, London Mayor] stands, but clarification of Labour's position is going to be looked for. And with Stansted expansion now blocked, the terms of reference on a London hub in the March consultation are substantially narrowed," said Riley.
London First today published a report which called for “significant improvement” to the capital’s transport links and branded the Government’s decision to rule out a third runway at Heathrow “negligent”.
