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CHELTENHAM GREEN CHALLENGES HORWOOD ON AIRPORT |
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 19th April 2008
Cheltenham MP Martin Horwood has consistently sat on the fence over the expansion of Staverton Airport. Cheltenham Green's growing frustration has led to them writing again to the MP. See Cheltenham Green party coordinators letters to Martin Horwood below: is he in favour or against?
Martin Horwood MP,
16 Hewlett Road,
Cheltenham,
16/04/08
Dear Mr Horwood,
When you spoke at the Save the Countryside event, you said that you preferred to receive letters rather than campaign postcards. I wrote to you on 06/12/07 (copy below); and do not seem to have your reply to hand. As the future of Staverton airport is still undecided, you still have the chance to apply national Lib Dem policy to a local issue.
From the public statements to the press by the airport management, it is quite clear that they wish to expand the use of the airfield. On March 29th they announced that to cope with ‘increased demand’ they are starting an extra weekly flight from the Isle of Man; and when Gloucester played Munster at rugby they proudly proclaimed how they had handled the extra flights.
As expansion is the true intention of the airport management, then this exposes the false position that Cheltenham Council have taken in accepting the report from Lib Dem councillor Steve Jordan, which was based on the premise that safety was the only matter to be considered.
Please reply and explain where you stand on this local issue which goes to the heart of whether national and local government is serious about taking action to combat global warming.
Yours sincerely, John Heywood.
Earlier letter dated 06/12/2007
Martin Horwood MP,
16 Hewlett Road,
Cheltenham,
Dear Mr Horwood,
Thank you for replying so swiftly to my second letter about the Climate Change Bill, on 30/11/2007.
However in your letter of 20/11/2007 you included a quote from your own speech to parliament in which you said, ‘ The Lib Dems have set out a radical and coherent plan. We want to see… no new runways at Heathrow, Gatwick or Stansted…’
If this is your line on national aviation matters, could you also make a similar local commitment about Staverton airport? The airport management’s present plans will lead to an increase in scheduled services and more flights by private jets. Could you not lead the Cheltenham Lib Dem councillors to follow your national plan and to refuse to support any increase of flights into or out of Staverton? (I acknowledge that you do not have any direct control other than persuasion over you council colleagues). A decision ‘to do nothing’ about the airport would be sufficient policy for the present; and would be helpful to the climate change debate.
Yours sincerely, John Heywood.
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