Planning matters

Following two Government consultations earlier in the year on aviation, the Department for Transport has begun plans to develop a new UK Aviation Strategy to, help shape the future of the aviation industry to 2050 and beyond. Where the previous two 2017 aviation consultations dealt with a National Policy Statement for a new north-west runway at Heathrow Airport and a review of the future of airspace management, this national strategy will seek to review the challenges facing aviation as well as opportunities – to set out a long-term direction for aviation policy and how the Government can support the future growth of the industry.

 

There is a long and complex history of UK aviation policy, focused primarily on the need (or not) for additional runway capacity. It’s been four years since Government published the extant national policy – the Aviation Policy Framework 2013 – which set out the principles the Airports Commission (which came to a close in 2015) took into account when assessing the need for new runway capacity. The predecessor of the Aviation Policy Framework was the White Paper, the Future of Air Transport 2003. This set out the need for all UK airports to consider their own position and role via an airport master plan – at the time it also gave support for a new runway at Heathrow Airport. The 1985 Airports Policy White Paper took a more conservative view, recommending the need to review capacity provision and until that time stating that the focus should be on making best use of existing capacity.

 

This proposed new aviation strategy moves beyond the runway and capacity debate, with an overriding aim of putting the customer at the centre of aviation policy - ‘to achieve a safe, secure and sustainable aviation sector that meets the needs of consumers and of a global outward-looking Britain[1]’, whilst still seeking to ‘make best use of existing capacity at all airports around the country[2]’. At a recent Aviation Club UK[3] event[4], the Secretary of State for Transport, Chris Grayling, spoke of the emerging strategy and reinforced the importance of aviation in a post-Brexit environment, confirming that it remains central to the Government’s plans for the UK.  With a long term view in mind, the focus of this new strategy will be to boost economic growth, regional connectivity and skills to prepare the industry for the next three decades and beyond.

 

The first step in preparing this emerging policy is a call for evidence by Government. The consultation document ‘Beyond the horizon: the future of UK aviation – call for evidence on a new strategy’, was published on 21^st July 2017 and closes 13^th October 2017. The Government has identified six themes it considers important to take the aviation industry forward and is now seeking views on the approach to take and the issues that it has identified. The six themes are:

• Customer service
• Safety and security
• Growing global connectivity
• Encouraging competitive markets
• Supporting growth while tackling environmental impacts
• Embracing innovation and technology, and building a skilled workforce

Government has said that following this call for evidence, consultations on each of the six themes will run throughout 2017 and 2018; publication of the final aviation strategy will be by the end of 2018. Future Lichfields blogs will consider the various elements contained in these proposed publications and their implications, so please subscribe for future updates.

 

The areas we’re most interested to hear more on from Government include: the mechanisms proposed to safeguard existing airport operations; the role of regional connectivity; preserving the general aviation network; and the need to demonstrate the contribution and the need for adequate surface access.

 

Who should be interested in this initial call for evidence? The Government wants to hear from airlines, airports, the aerospace sector, freight customers, passengers and the public about how Government can support the industry. Given the long-term view of this emerging policy and its focus on boosting economic growth, connectivity and skills, it will be important for everyone who the industry serves, and those who are affected by it, to have their say. The consultation period for this first stage of review ends on 13^th October. Please do get in touch if you would like to know more about the objectives of the call for evidence and the questions posed by Government, and would like our assistance with preparing a submission.