14th November 2007

Green anger at Staverton expansion plans. 

Photo: Camp Hope reported in The Citizen - Greens from all four Gloucestershire Green parties joined the camp.

See also many previous letters and news releases by putting Staverton into the search facility of this website. Below three versions of letter - the first to SNJ, the second to The Citizen and Echo and the third to WDP:

To Stroud News and Journal:

Over five years ago Greens wrote to this paper protesting at plans to expand Gloucestershire's Airport at Staverton. Since then the airport have denied plans and in one recent leaked report even denied climate change existed, but there is no doubt expansion is planned.

The SNJ recently ran a competition with free flights on a new service from Staverton as the prize. However this support for increases in aviation flies in the face of science. The latest consensus is that 60% cuts in CO2 emissions will be woefully inadequate: many accept we need 90% cuts. If Staverton expands, what other sector of our economy must cut emissions even harder to 'pay' for this?

Gloucester City and Cheltenham Borough own the airport and Tewkesbury Borough is the planning authority. Here is an opportunity for local authorities to take a lead. The good news is that a report this month by the IPPR, RSBP, and WWF confirms what Greens have been saying: measures needed to achieve radical cuts in our emissions are cost-effective and are possible without damaging the economy or having to resort to nuclear power.

However failure to act decisively now means that we will face increasingly terrifying choices about who lives, who dies, who eats, who starves, who swims and who sinks.

Cllr. Philip Booth, Stroud District Green Party.

To The Citizen/Echo:

I have read in this paper, with growing incredulity, letters supporting expansion of Staverton airport. What part of the science of climate change do they not understand? The latest consensus is that 60% cuts in CO2 emissions will be woefully inadequate (i): many accept we need 90% cuts. If we allow Staverton to expand, what other sector of our economy must cut emissions even harder to 'pay' for this?

Gloucester City and Cheltenham Borough own the airport while Tewkesbury Borough is the planning authority. Here is an opportunity for our local authorities to take a lead on one of the greatest threats to our future: catastrophic climate change. Failure to act decisively now means, that it is no exaggeration to say, that we will face increasingly terrifying choices about who lives, who dies, who eats, who starves, who swims and who sinks.

Responsible businesses are acting to cut emissions and find alternatives to air travel yet councillors seem to be entertaining supporting expansion? Even Lib Dems who have a policy against airport expansions seem to want to forget this when it comes to  Staverton.

A report last week by the IPPR, RSBP, and WWF confirms what Greens have been saying: measures needed to achieve radical cuts in our emissions are cost-effective and are possible without damaging the economy or having to resort to nuclear power. It is time we saw leadership on this issue.

Cllr. Philip Booth, Stroud District Green Party.


Note for Editors:
(i) tyndall.webapp1.uea.ac.uk

To Western Daily Press:

Almost exactly five years ago Greens wrote to this paper protesting at plans to expand Gloucestershire's Airport at Staverton. Since then the airport have denied plans and in one recent leaked report even denied climate change existed, but there is no doubt expansion is planned.

Yet support for airport expansions like at Staverton, and indeed at Bristol Airport, fly in the face of science. The latest consensus is that 60% cuts in CO2 emissions will be woefully inadequate: many accept we need 90% cuts. If Staverton or Bristol expands, what other sector of our economy must cut emissions even harder to 'pay' for this?

Here is an opportunity for local authorities to take a lead. Airport expansions cannot be allowed to go ahead. Indeed failure to act decisively now means that we will face increasingly terrifying choices about who lives, who dies, who eats, who starves, who swims and who sinks.

The good news is that a report this month by the IPPR, RSBP, and WWF confirms what Greens have been saying: measures needed to achieve radical cuts in our emissions are cost-effective and are possible without damaging the economy or having to resort to nuclear power. We now urgently need real leadership on this issue before it is too late.

Cllr. Philip Booth, Stroud District Green Party.