Winner: Manchester Airport
Location Manchester, UK
Achievement Winning approval for construction of a second runway through work with local communities. In January 1997, the UK Government granted approval for the construction of a full-length second runway at Manchester Airport - the first such project to get the go-ahead at a UK airport in the last 20 years.
The economic case for building the new 3,048m (10,000ft) runway was clear. The annual throughput of 15 million passengers is projected to double by the year 2005, generating new jobs in the region and some £1.6 billion of fresh income. It was crucial, however, that Manchester airport address the environmental concerns of local communities, which have been the main obstacle to increasing airport capacity throughout Europe.
From the outset, environmental assessments and public consultations helped to shape the design and layout of the project. The concept of a close-spaced parallel runway means that only 25Ha (62 acres) of new land outside the existing airport perimeter will have to be paved, while land will also be set aside for new woodland.
Legally binding guarantees have been drawn up in consultation with the local community, ensuring that the noise impact is no worse through to 2011 than it was in 1992 and that the new runway will not normally be used at night.
The Awards judges agree that Manchester Airport had set an excellent example in how to incorporate local environmental concerns into what was inevitably going to be a high-profile and controversial airport-expansion plan.
Source: Flight International
