Birmingham Friends of the Earth's Flyagra campaign is taking off with over 600 cards opposing the planning application for the extension of the runway at Birmingham international airport already signed.
Last week the consultation period for this application re-opened with Solihull council, so opponents need to step up their efforts to make sure their voices are heard. Worryingly, many of the residents we have recently talked to on the street in the areas around the airport were not aware that there was a planning application to extend the runway and mistakenly believed the expansion of BIA had been put on hold following the announcement last year that the controversial second runway would not be needed before 2030. There is clearly more work that needs to be done.
Over the next few weeks volunteers will be out on the streets gathering more support for their campaign. By demonstrating the level of opposition to the airport's plans, which has been evident on our stalls so far, we hope to make it very difficult for the councill to approve the application.
With emissions from aviation generally agreed to be rising faster than from any other sector, it is important that Birmingham doesn't scupper its plans to reduce CO2 emissions with this expansion now. If approved, the £120 million runway extension, which would increase the range of long-haul flights available from Birmingham, is expected to be up and running by as early as 2012.
Visit www.flyagra.co.uk for more information.
