Grounded: Another victory in battle to curb airport growth

A dramatic grassroots fightback is under way against the massive expansion plans of Britain's airports which, despite grave concerns about effects on the environment, are aiming to treble flights and vastly increase passenger numbers within 20 years.

In an unexpected triumph for campaigners yesterday, Manchester airport's plans to expand on to green belt land which it owns in Cheshire were rejected by a government planning inspector, who supported the objections of Macclesfield Borough Council. The decision follows a similar triumph for Warwick District Council, whose opposition to ambitious development plans at Coventry airport have halted plans to double passenger numbers.

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Britain's largest protest against the vast airport expansion plans, which seem to be out of kilter with the Government's pledges on carbon emissions, will take place at Heathrow next month when Camp for Climate Action, an annual gathering of hundreds of environmental campaigners, will spend eight days camped there. The airport's operator is preparing to submit planning proposals for a third runway.

The tide of opposition, based on a mixture of local environmental concerns and concern over carbon emissions, is dissuading some airports from tabling expansion plans. Luton announced four days ago that it was dropping plans for a new runway and Birmingham has shelved indefinitely its plans for a second runway. Analysts believe the anticipated local opposition is now a significant factor in the thinking of airport owners. These grassroots efforts and others are the latest manifestation of the emerging British force of people power which, in recent months, has pursued causes as diverse as reducing bank charges and fighting carbon emissions.

Macclesfield knew it faced a difficult and expensive public inquiry when it rejected Manchester airport's plans for a 1,500-place car park on green belt land within council boundaries, in 2005. The airport is unaccustomed to planning battles: Manchester City Council, which owns 55 per cent of the plc's shares, has a vested interest in its expansion and has permitted car park and hotel developments on green belt land within its own boundaries. But despite a tough grilling at the public inquiry from the airport's barrister, senior Macclesfield planning officer John Knight expressed dismay at the airport's failure to invest in public transport, which would remove the need for a large car park.

The council's chief planning officer, Peter Yates, said yesterday that the planning inspector's decision sent a message to British airports. "Some see the [sites] they own as land to develop exactly as they want to," he said. "This [result] is a positive statement for the future of green belt and a demonstration that there will not be a laissez-faire approach for development. It is a good result for the planning system."

Other small planning authorities the length of Britain are demonstrating that the economic benefits brought by airport expansions on their doorstep will not blind them to environmental damage. Uttlesford District Council in Essex is engaged in a battle against the corporate might of BAA, owner of Stansted airport, at a public inquiry forced by the local authority's rejection of the airport's plans to increase the maximum number of passengers from 25 million to 35 million people a year. The council has told the inquiry that its decision was "an attempt to apply government policy " following the announcement last year that carbon dioxide emissions will play a key role in considering airport expansion plans.

Jeff Gazzard of the Aviation Environment Federation said the power of local communities and local authorities was having an effect. "This is the moment that communities are beginning to demonstrate a case for why airport development should be constrained," he said. John Stewart, of the environmental group, Airport Watch, said the organisational prowess of individual airport protest groups meant they were punching above their weight. "You can never entirely untangle a financial decision from the effect of a campaign," he said. "But there are some really strong local campaigns."

The protests have grown out of ambitious airport expansion masterplans which the Government asked for in its 2003 Aviation White Paper. If Britain's 71 airports carried out those which have been published, carbon emissions from the British aviation industry would increase by an estimated 10 million tonnes - a free-for-all which now seems out of kilter with the urgency of the climate change issue. Oxford University's Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research claimed last year that if aviation continued to grow at its current rate, it would outstrip emissions from cars in six to eight years.

By general consensus, one of the most impressive protest groups is Stop Bristol Airport Expansion campaign, which has the support of North Somerset District Council. The Heathrow campaign is also highly organised and claims to have enlisted the cricket legends Shane Warne and Imran Khan for a match to draw attention to the plight of residents under the flight path.

One of David Cameron's six policy review groups has urged a moratorium on new runways until there is compelling evidence that railways cannot offer lower-emissions alternatives. But there are new fears for campaigners. Last month's Planning White Paper, which streamlines planning procedures for major infrastructure projects, such as power stations and airports, threatens to remove their power to effect change altogether.

Challenged: Heathrow

With owner BAA preparing to submit planning proposals for a third runway, it is set become the focus of one one of Britain's biggest and most high profile airport protests yet when Camp for Climate Action, an annual gathering of hundreds of environmental campaigners, spends eight days camped there next month.

Challenged: Stansted

Following the local Uttlesford district council's rejection of its expansion plans on environmental grounds last year, a public inquiry has been under way since May into proposals to increase the maximum number of passengers flying in and out of rural Essex from 25 million to 35 million people a year. Will not be concluded until the autumn.

Challenged: Gatwick

Its masterplan includes an option for a second runway to increase annual numbers by 40 per cent to 45 million. More municipal opposition: Mole Valley district council has expressed concern about the airport's failure to invest in its railway station.

Rejected: Manchester

Against all expectations, the local Macclesfield borough council has won a planning inquiry to prevent the airport expanding onto Cheshire green belt land, to create extra car parking as it seeks to increase passenger numbers, from 22 million a year to 50 million by 2030, doubling its revenue to £2.1bn.

Rejected: Coventry

Its plans to build a new terminal, capable of handling up to two million passengers per year, have been kicked out by a planning inquiry forced when Warwick district council opposed the plans. Coventry wanted to increase passenger numbers to two million per year. Its managing director, Chris Orphanou, said he was "bitterly disappointed" by the planning decision.

Abandoned: Birmingham

Plans for a pounds £2bn second runway at Birmingham International Airport are to be shelved indefinitely. The airport's masterplan, due to be published soon, will conclude that forecast passenger figures are unlikely to be high enough to justify an additional runway for at least 25 years. A £120m extension to the main Birmingham runway is expected instead

Abandoned: Luton

After major environmental protests, its owner, TBI, has withdrawn proposals for a full length replacement runway to the south of the existing runway, with a new terminal. The company said the development would take too long to make a return on the money that it would cost to build and that it will now focus on the existing airport

Opposed: Bristol

One of Britain's most organised campaigns against airport expansion, the Stop Bristol Airport Expansion, is currently coordinating opposition to the airport's masterplan which envisages a doubling of passenger numbers to nine million by 2015. North Somerset district council's frosty official response to the masterplan suggests that planning permission will be hard won

Approved: Bournemouth

The economic benefits have outweighed environmental worries for Christchurch Borough Council Given which has approved a £32m redevelopment. The airport expects to be handling more than 3 million passengers by 2015, a steep increase on the 970,000 passengers this year

Rapid expansion

* UK airports handled 235 million passengers in 2006, an increase of nearly 3 per cent on the previous year. The Government expects that number to double over the next 25 years

* Local airports has extraordinary growth last year. Southend saw a 489 per cent increase in passengers. City of Derry and Doncaster-Sheffield enjoyed growth of 70 and 50 per cent respectively

* Britain's 71 airports will increase carbon emissions from the British aviation industry by an estimated 10 million tonnes if they expand as planned

* Last year, 98 million passengers flew from regional airports - double the number from a decade ago. Traffic at London airports has grown from 88 million to 137 million over the same period.

* Manchester Airport projects an increase in passenger numbers from 22 million a year to 50 million, doubling its revenue to £2.1bn

* Some airports have vastly exceeded the plans originally envisaged in the 2003 White Paper's ambitions - including Glasgow, which expects to grow from eight million to 24 million passengers, and Newcastle from five million to 18 million

* BA recently announced a 70 per cent expansion of short-haul and domestic flights from London City

* Planes can produce 10 times as much CO2 as trains