20th June 2019

Biggest ever Residents’ Petition calls for Review of Airport Decision

The biggest ever residents’ petition in the history of Uttlesford District Council has been submitted to the Council by Stop Stansted Expansion (SSE). The petition calls for the 2018 Stansted Airport planning application to be referred back to the UDC Planning Committee.
The petition attracted over 1,000 signatures in its first five days. This is more than 20 times more than the minimum required by UDC for a petition to be validated and more than four times as many as any previous UDC petition.
The 2018 Stansted Airport planning application, which sought approval for an increase in annual passenger numbers to 43 million, was conditionally approved by the Uttlesford Planning Committee in November 2018. However, final approval has not yet been granted because there are conflicting views as to whether the conditions have been fully met.
The petition makes no judgment as to whether the application should be approved or refused. It is purely a request for the correct procedure to be followed by referring the matter to the Planning Committee.
SSE Deputy Chairman Brian Ross said: “There is an overwhelming case for the Planning Committee to have another look at this. It’s not only their legal entitlement but also their legal duty to do so. It is imperative that officers do not issue final approval before allowing the Planning Committee an opportunity to take stock of the situation.”
Meanwhile, the High Court has agreed to combine SSE’s two legal challenges to the airport planning application (one against the Transport Secretary and the other against the Communities Secretary) and has set aside three days for a full hearing in November 2019.

Campaigning to ensure Stansted Airport's authorised operations stay below harmful limits