Letter to the Shields Gazette - no to airport expansion
28th January 2009
South Tyneside Green Party member Brian Paget last week sent a response to this innacurate and misleading article in the Gazette, which claimed that:
"A CALL to expand Newcastle Airport has been given cross-party support by all South Tyneside's political groups"
The letter was published today, but is reproduced in full here as the Gazette editorial team edited the letter so severely that much of the context has been mangled:
I challenge the Gazette's inaccurate and misleading claim that "all South Tyneside's political groups" (Gazette, 19th January) support expansion at Newcastle Airport. South Tyneside Green Party would not support an irresponsible policy of encouraging growth in aviation at a time when CO2 emissions should be reduced, not actively encouraged.
Passenger growth means more flights which inevitably means more CO2 emissions, which is contrary to the claimed intentions of our government and council. An increase in flights would mean more lives blighted by aircraft noise and particulate emissions. Aviation growth is environmentally unsustainable.
It shouldn't come as a surprise that Labour and the Tories kneel together before corporate self-interest and lobbyists at the expense of people and the environment. Their support for airport expansion is a startling example of economic and environmental incompetence. The casual disregard which South Tyneside councillors show towards those living under the flight path is contemptible.
Any claims that they give a stuff about climate change are the same as their aviation policy - pie in the sky.
Brian Paget
On behalf of South Tyneside Green Party