Stansted Airport Chamber of Commerce

In response, Mark Pendlington, Stansted Airport’s Communications Director, said:

"SSE and their supporters had nothing new to say at the meeting last week.  They gave all their carefully crafted slogans a good airing, but we heard very little to do with the facts. And in terms of how the public feel, compare the 250 or so who attended the SSE meeting with the 64,000 who travelled through the airport terminal on the same day. What their meeting did achieve was to highlight the increasing disconnect between what SSE thinks and what is actually happening out here in the real world.

"The real world is all about tens of thousands of people local to Stansted – and millions of others - travelling through the airport, and wanting to do so in future in increasing numbers. Which means we are planning to accommodate much of that growth, but to get the go-ahead we will highlight the social and economic benefits of expansion as well as demonstrate how environmental impacts can be kept to a minimum. Any careful look at what we are proposing will highlight the strength and depth of the commitment we have to the environment, and the responsibility we take as a business at the heart of the local community.

"That is what the independent public inquiry will be all about. The case for and against expansion will be presented and cross-examined in minute detail, and we are ready to put forward a very strong case for approval. All of which is a long way from the hype and bluster of yet another SSE meeting."