The Government’s decision to allow a new runway at Heathrow comes after years of deliberation over how best to accommodate demand for airport capacity in the south-east.
One of the major obstacles was the concern about air quality, particularly in the residential areas which surround the junction where the congested M2 intersects with the M4. In response to this, the Government has introduced a Low Emission Zone in order to keep the most polluting vehicles out of the area, but will have to re-double its efforts for clearer air for the sake of residents nearby.
These decisions have implications for Birmingham Airport, which has previously sought to construct a second runway. However, the proposals submitted by the airport are comparatively recent and were not adopted by the Government. After all, it is only very recently that the airport extended the existing runway, creating significant extra capacity at Birmingham.
Birmingham International Airport presently uses about one third of the capacity of its single runway. If High Speed 2 is built, the attractiveness of Birmingham should increase, but at present train services on the West Coast Mainline do not start early enough to bring passengers from the south-east of the country to Birmingham for the early morning flights.
I want to see Birmingham Airport thrive. After all, it is a successful and important local employer. But so too must we look to balance other needs - not least the needs of the community, and the need for housing; which Solihull Council has proposed to address through the development of a new Garden City around the HS2 parkway station site.
This argument demonstrates how the plans of local stakeholders and the will of the local community need to be carefully considered in order to achieve a balanced outcome.
*Caroline Spelman writes for the Solihull News | Friday 4th December 2016