Biggin Hill Airport Consultative Committee

Biggin Hill Airport Consultative Committee minutes, 1 April2014 (final draft)

BIGGIN HILL AIRPORT CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE

Minutes of Meeting held on Thursday, 17April 2014 at 3.30pm.

Present:

Organisation:Representative:

ChairmanMr J. Bowden

SecretaryMr G. Crowe

Biggin Hill Airport Limited (BHAL)Mr A. Walters (Chairman, BHAL) (AW)

Mr W. Curtis,Airport Managing Director (AMD)

Mr P. LeBlond

Mr S. Ames

London Borough of Bromley (LBB)Councillor J. Benington*

Councillor E. Bosshard*

London B. of Bromley Residents Federation (BRF) Mr C. Cadzow

Tandridge District Council Councillor R. David*

Private Owners Mr D. Field

Private Owners Mr M. Greenaway

Surrey County CouncilCouncillor D. Hodge

Sevenoaks District Council Councillor R. Hogarth

London B. of Bromley Residents FederationMr D. Hook

Autoflame Engineering Ltd (Observer)Mr N. Kemp

Tatsfield Parish Council Councillor I. Mitchell

London Borough of Bromley (Officer) Mr K. Munnelly

BRF & Leaves Green & Keston Vale Res. Assn. Mr P. Osborne

Kent County Council Councillor R. Parry

South London Business Mr D. Ponnoosami

ObserverMrs M. Stevens

*substitute member

Chairman

1.1Andrew Walters advised that, following the retirement of Cliff Hardcastle as Chairman of the Committee, he had been taken out to lunch together with the Secretary and Paul Le Blond.

1.2The Committee was also informed that the Deputy Chairman, John Bowden, had accepted an invitation to take over as Chairman of the Committee.

1.3John Bowden said that the Department for Transport’s Guidelines for Airport Consultative Committees and this Committee’s Constitution stress the need for chairsnot to be closely identified with any sectional interest. He advised that his firm of solicitors carries out work for the Airport as well as for a number of other companies.

1.4Councillor Parry said that John had been a very effective Deputy Chairman and that he was very happy to second the appointment and members indicated that they were pleased with the appointment.

Welcome and Chairman’s introductory remarks

2.1The Chairman welcomed members to the meeting. He particularly welcomed Councillor Hogarth who was attending his first meeting of the Committee.

2.2Andrew Walters introduced Nick Kemp, a director at Autoflame Engineering Ltd which he said was a successful company which had moved back to Biggin Hill 5 years previously.

Apologies for absence

3.1Apologies for absence were received from James Cleverly(Greater London Authority (GLA)Member for Bexley and Bromley),Mr R. Linton (GLA), Mrs M. Manuel (London Borough of Bromley (Officer)), Councillor Mrs S. Marks (Tandridge District Council, substituted by Councillor David), Councillor A. Michael (London Borough of Bromley, substituted by Councillor Bosshard), Councillor G. Norrie (London Borough of Bromley, substituted by Councillor Benington), Councillor S. O’Connell (London Borough of Croydon), Mr R. Shirley (Transcity Exhibitions)and Mr C. Webb (Jet Aviation).

Membership

4.01 There were no membership issues to report.

Minutes of the previous meeting

5.01The minutes of the meeting held on 16 January 2014 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

5.02Peter Osborne reported that he had been advised that the minutes of recent meetings of the Committee had not been posted on the Airport’s website. Paul Le Blond undertook to ensure that approved minutes would be so published.

Matters arising from the minutes

6.01 Redhill Airport(paragraph 11.05 refers) - Paul LeBlond advised that the appeal against the refusal to grant permission for a hard runway had been dismissed. He confirmed that he had forwarded the inspector’s decision notice to the Secretary who apologised that he had not forwarded it to members. He undertook to do so. Action: Secretary

6.02Revised draft Guidelines for Airport Consultative Committees - the Chairman confirmed that he had written to the Department for Transport to pass on the Committee’s comments on the draft Guidelines but had not received a response.

Annual General Meeting 2014

7.01The minutes of the 10th Annual General Meeting held on 16 January 2014 were received and noted.

Airport Managing Director’s report

8.01The AMD’s report had previously been circulated and it was presented by Will Curtis. It provided information on the following issues:

8.02Industry update - Europe – The report included an update from the European Business Aviation (EBAA). It advised that the decline in Eurozone business aviation movement volumes slowed slightly in the year ending March 2014 with a volume decrease of -1.1% compared to the -2.4% reported at the last meeting. In the first quarter of 2014 Eurozone movement numbers actually recorded a slight growth at +0.1%. London Biggin Hill had performed slightly better with a first quarter growth of +2.25%.

8.03Biggin Hill movement summary – Total movements increased by 1,908 (26.6%) compared with the same quarter in 2013. This increase consisted mainly of 1,568 of additional light aircraft movements for the quarter. Corporate flights saw a net increase of 53 movements. The positive contribution in this sector was entirely within the air taxi/charter subset whilst the corporately operated flights decreased. The large rise in light aircraft movements was considered to be as a result of the more favourable weather conditions during the quarter rather than any increased strength in that market sector.

8.04Helicopter movements continued to increase over 2013 figures but, as previously reported, this was due entirely to the arrival of two Biggin Hill based helicopter operators.

8.05The operational movements during the first quarter of 2014 were:

Club Circuit / Club
Other / Private
Owner / ATM
Schld. / ATM
Charter / Corp.
Jet / Twin Corp. / Helis. / Military / Total
January / 793 / 298 / 341 / 0 / 458 / 270 / 45 / 120 / 6 / 2,331
February / 890 / 377 / 433 / 0 / 502 / 224 / 54 / 122 / 6 / 2,608
March / 1737 / 673 / 686 / 0 / 511 / 286 / 55 / 170 / 6 / 4,124
Total / 3420 / 1348 / 1460 / 0 / 1471 / 780 / 154 / 412 / 18 / 9,063
Change / +748 / +486 / +334 / 0 / +162 / -95 / -14 / +269 / +18 / +1,908
Year to date / 3,420 / 1,348 / 1,460 / 0 / 1,471 / 780 / 154 / 412 / 18 / 9,063

8.06During the same quarter of 2013 they had been:

Club Circuit / Club
Other / Private
Owner / ATM
Schld / ATM
Charter / Corp.
Jet / Corp.
Twin / Helis. / Military / Total
January / 676 / 190 / 290 / 0 / 422 / 284 / 36 / 49 / 0 / 1,947
February / 960 / 311 / 419 / 0 / 467 / 303 / 61 / 43 / 0 / 2,564
March / 1,036 / 361 / 417 / 0 / 420 / 288 / 71 / 51 / 0 / 2,644
Total / 2,672 / 862 / 1,126 / 0 / 1,309 / 875 / 168 / 143 / 0 / 7,155
Year to Date / 2,672 / 862 / 1,126 / 0 / 1,309 / 875 / 168 / 143 / 0 / 7,155

8.07Total movements during 2013 – It was noted that the total number of movements in the last calendar year were:

Club Circuit / Club
Other / Private
Owner / ATM
Schld / ATM
Charter / Corp.
Jet / Corp.
Twin / Helis. / Military / Total
14,529 / 6,807 / 7,412 / 0 / 6,415 / 4,081 / 915 / 1,266 / 62 / 41,487
% change from 2012 / -1.85 / +1.04 / 0 / -1.20 / -4.96 / -7.95 / +44.85 / 0.0 / -4.16 / -11.19

8.08 UK Aviation Policy – Referring to minute 7 (16 January 2014, the AMD’s report included the comment that, following the publication of the Airports Commission Interim Report, UK aviation policy continued to be poorly defined and lacking direction and a cohesive strategy. The final report was not due for publication until after the next general election and no decision would be made on any new runway capacity for London until at least late 2015. No additional runway capacity would, therefore, be available at a London airport before 2025.

8.09 Consequently, the major London airports wouldexperience runway capacity constraints during this decade. This would lead to the displacement of Business Aviation to other London airports and London Biggin Hill Airport would have an opportunity to acquire some of this market share along with the jobs and prosperity that this would bring. The introduction of “slot matching” at London Luton Airport would be a precursor to a fully coordinated runway environment.

8.10 If London Biggin Hill Airport and the Strategic Outer London Development Centre (SOLDC) is to take advantage of this change in the market, it is essential that local planning policy supports the development of the SOLDC and the objectives of LOCATE. BHAL hadresponded to the Bromley draft Local Plan and was awaiting publication of the revised Plan. Bromley had indicated that it was very conscious of the need for a supportive policy framework and was seeking to deliver the appropriate level of support having regard to appropriate environmental and other considerations.

8.11When the AMD presented this part of his report, he referred to the acceptance of an application by Biggin Hill and Oxford airports for judicial review enabling them to challenge the decision of the CAA and Secretary of State for Transport to refuse to consider imposing conditions on the use by civil commercial aviation atRAF Northolt. Will Curtis advised that previously Biggin Hill had 16% of London businesstraffic against 7% at Northolt. Now the figures were 15% and 16% respectively. The AMD invited members to write to the Department for Transport on the issue. In answer to a question, the AMD advised that he was not aware of the opening hours of RAF Northolt. Later in the meeting Paul LeBlond advised that its opening hours were 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday and 8am to 3pm or 7pm at weekends and bank holidays.

8.12At another stage of the meeting, Andrew Walterspointed out that the Government was paying for Northolt’s costs and he added that the defence review had recommended closure of Northolt airport. Maurice Greenaway advised members that Northolt’s highest fee was £500 due to it being subsidised by the Government and said that planning permission had not been required.

8.13Airport facilities-No building projects were currently under way. Improved weather in the past 2 months had allowed some overdue repairs and drainage projects to be carried out. They had been put on hold due to saturated ground. Various roofs and fences that had suffered damage during the winter had been restored to good order.

8.14In addition, Taxiway K and an area of taxiway at intersection A3 had been resurfaced at a cost of £130,000.

8.15The AMD added that electric aircraft tugs had been introduced and that a hangar at East Camp was to be refurbished. The hangars at the Airport were fully occupied and consideration would have to be given to where it would be possible to site new ones.

8.16Economic Development/LoCATE@BigginHill-During the presentation of the AMD’s report Paul Le Blond, for the benefit of new members, outlined the purpose of LoCATE.

8.17He advised that a stakeholders meeting had been held on 13 March 2014, the main purpose of which was to agree the response to the Local Plan consultation. He said that many of the stakeholders wished to discuss how Biggin Hill Airport could be more attractive to businesses. The next stakeholders meeting would be held in the autumn and would discuss the next stage of the Local Plan. A newsletter had been published.

8.18Health & Safety/security-The AMD’s report advised that the Airport Safety Management System (SMS) was now fully functional. It was expected to be signed off as European Aviation Safety Agency Phase II compliant in July 2014. The SMS was producing valid safety data allowing management to track trends and hazard logs to be proactive in preventing incidents.

8.19Environment - TheAMDadvised that he continued to remind Biggin Hill based light aircraft pilots of the need to avoid flight over built up areas, especially Biggin Hill, Tatsfield, Farnborough Park, Orpington and Petts Wood. Sadly, a few pilots continued to cause undue annoyance on the ground. The Biggin Hill UK CAA Aeronautical Information Publication entry had been updated to reflect and reinforce approved noise abatement routings and this would form part of an enforcement programme.

8.20Members were advised that, as the result of Airport regulations being flouted, one fine had been imposed and a pilot had been banned from using the Airport. Councillor Mitchell suggested that publicity should be given to these actions.

9.Report by the Chairman of the Noise and Safety Sub-Committee

9.01The report of the Flight Evaluation Unit for the first quarter of 2014 was tabled together with a map that plotted the areas from which the comments had emanated.

9.02Councillor Parry, the Chairman of the Sub-Committee, advised that there had been8comments/complaints and that they had all been handled well. He advised on some of the movements as follows:

as mentioned in paragraph 8.19 above, a pilot had been fined. The pilot had been receiving training in use of the instrument landing system and had turned too early;
a complaint from a resident of Timbertop Road, Biggin Hill had been received regarding a pilot under instruction;
another complaint was regarding pollution fumes and had been received from a resident of Milking Lane, Keston. It had not been possible to ascertain when the incident had occurred and, therefore, which aircraft had been the perpetrator
it had not been possible to contact a complainant from Keston who had raised 5 issues, one of which related to the suggested lack of airworthiness of that an aircraft;
one complaint was in relation to the police helicopter operating at 11pm (when the Airport was closed).

9.03Reference was made to an issue raised by Councillor Mitchell relating to a Challenger aircraft which on 16 April had failed to turn in accordance with Airport regulations and flown over Tatsfield. It was noted that this was a Nigerian aircraft and that it had also had a bad landing at the airport. The pilot was the one referred to in paragraph 8.19 above who had been banned from using the Airport. It was noted that this movement would be included in the statistics to be considered by the Sub-Committee at its next meeting.

9.05Councillor Parry also mentioned that the London Borough of Bromley was investigating an appropriate position to site its noise monitor.

11. Planning issues

11.01Bromley Local Plan- Kevin Munnelly advised that the consultation on the draft Policy was completed and that the responses would be considered at a meeting to be held on Tuesday, 22 April. He said that Bromley Council recognised the importance of Biggin Hill as an SOLDC and was keen to ensure that the planning framework would accommodate growth. Consultants would be working with the Airport’s consultants to facilitate that. The draft Local Plan would be publicised in September. Representations had been made by the Council to the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) which requires a defined business case.

11.02In answer to a question from Doug Field, the AMD advised that a scheme had been put forward to the Council for new and renovated hangars, West Camp redevelopment,the proposed hotel, and training centre. Andrew Walters added that the problem in the past been that there were too many stakeholders. A clear plan was now being produced which has been provided to Bromley Council. Funding was available and Biggin Hill Airport could be made to operate as an evenbetter reliever airport than Teterboro Airport in the USA. It could be one of the best aviation airports in the world.

11.03Deva Ponnoosami referred to an article about Manston Airport not having the right business model and Bromley councillors mentioned that the Leader of the Council was interested in the Airport and was business orientated.

11.04Andrew Walters also informed the Committee that the possibility that Air Passenger Duty could kill businesswas being raised.

11.05Hotel - Councillor Hodge asked if there was any progress with the proposed hotel and Andrew Walters advised that a meeting was to be held with the GLA on 12 May. There were now two proposals, including the 76 bedroom one for which there was an existed planning permission. He said that the GLA was offering finance for growth but that it was not viable for the Airport to take all the risk itself. It had madea profit before tax of only£742,000 and he was providing financing from his own pocket. In answer to questions from Councillor Hodge, Paul Le Blond said that the GLA was the LEP for London. Kevin Munnelly said that Bromley was part of the South London Growth Board and that a meeting in March had made representations to the London LEP. The deadline for applications was later in the year. Councillor Hodge added that, due to the number of new properties in the area, there was the need for growth and new jobs.

11.06 As mentioned in paragraph 11.1 above, Andrew Walters referred to the London Borough of Bromley having commissioned the top consultancy firm, URS, to carry out reviews including on Biggin Hill Airport. He added that the Airport could accommodate more maintenance, repair and operation (MRO) companies than the 3 that were already there.

Community Relations

12.01Press cuttings - The press cuttings for the last quarter had been circulated with the agenda for the meeting. The Chairman congratulated the Airport on its excellent coverage in the press.

Revised draft Guidelines for Airport Consultative Committees

13.01The Committee was advised that the revised Guidelines had been published that morning and that suggestions for amendments to the Committee’s Constitution would be brought to the next meeting.

Any other business

14.01Festival of Flight - the AMD reported that the Festival of Flight was to be held on Saturday, 14 June from 12.30 to 8pm and that the only jet aircraft that would be taking part would be the Red Arrows. There was to be a limit on attendance of 15,000. It will involve 3 hours of flying and also some ground events such as a display of cars and a small fair. The traffic management should ensure the roads would not be blocked. In answer to a question, the Committee was informed that there were to be concessionary prices for local residents and 3,600 tickets would be available at 60% of the normal price. He added that members of the Committee would be invited.

14.02Deputy Chairman - In answer to a question Andrew Walters reported that the appointment of the Deputy Chairman was under consideration.

Dates of next meetings

15.01The Committee was reminded that the dates of its next two meetings had been amended and were to be held at the Airport at 3.30pm on the following dates:

Wednesday, 16 July 2014;
Thursday, 9 October 2014.

Themeeting closed at 5.45pm.