Press Release - 9 February 2006

NOTE ON PHOTOCALL DETAILS
On Sunday 19 February during the Motorcade Marathon there will be picture opportunities at the start (Birchanger Services) and on route but the best vantage point for seeing the cars in the context of the proposed second runway siting preferred by BAA will be Broxted Hill Farm, Broxted Hill, near Great Dunmow, Essex CM6 2EP at c11.30am.  (See details and timings below, with map at: www.stopstanstedexpansion.com/images/maps/Motorcade_2006.pdf)

Contact Carol Barbone on 0777 552 3091 for more details or to set up interviews, or for jpeg versions of the map.

The extent of the enormous land grab being proposed for a second runway at Stansted will be the focus of attention on the morning of Sunday 19 February when a motorcade of an expected 100 cars decorated with balloons and anti-expansion posters will tour some of the communities directly threatened by airport expansion plans.

The objective of the 26 mile marathon which will take around 1.5 hours to complete is to enable people to see for themselves the gigantic scale of the development being proposed for the airport.

The second runway and associated expansion being sought by airport developer BAA would mean that Stansted would become even bigger than Heathrow from 9.5sq km today to 16sq km in 2030, compared with 12 sq km at Heathrow and with even more passengers passing through each year from 22m today at Stansted to 76m by 2030, compared with 68m at Heathrow today.

The convoy, organised by Stop Stansted Expansion (SSE), will be led by a 1947 Bentley Clubman Coupe in campaign colours yellow and black - and a 1914 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost, weather permitting, lent for the occasion by Great Easton vintage car specialists P & A Wood.

The motorcade will set off from Birchanger Services at 10.30am and pass through countryside and villages such as Burton End, Broxted, Molehill Green and Bambers Green which are directly threatened by BAA's preferred runway plans.  The route will also take in some of the neighbouring villages including Henham, Elsenham, Tilty, the Eastons and Takeley which, amongst others, would be severely affected if expansion went ahead.

People wishing to join the motorcade should contact Stop Stansted Expansion on 01279 870558 to confirm details or see Coming Events where a map of the route is also shown.  This will help with planning and police liaison for the event.  The motorcade will not be passing through the existing airport site.

Car sharing is being encouraged and those able to offer transport to people without a car or who prefer not to drive, or those who would like seats, should make this clear when confirming their place in the convoy.

Speaking ahead of the motorcade, SSE Campaign Director Carol Barbone said: “While the outrageous size of the land grab being proposed by BAA is of serious concern given the 87 homes including 25 listed buildings and 627 hectares of countryside that the company wants to destroy, this is only the tip of the iceberg.  The impacts of an expanded Stansted would in fact be felt much further afield.”

A second runway would bring an extra million passengers per week travelling to and from the airport, largely by road, and the noise from increased air traffic would affect great swathes of the region.  Carbon dioxide emissions resulting from a tripling of aircraft using the airport as well as from those accessing an expanded airport by road are also a matter for serious concern.  None of these factors have been addressed by BAA's current consultation on the second runway plans.

SSE is urging people to make clear to BAA their opposition to a second runway in any position before the consultation closes in March.

It would take 8,000 cars on the motorcade to match the environmental damage of a single round trip to Prague by plane.

Assume the average car on the 26 mile route uses one gallon of petrol - i.e 100 gallons for 100 cars, which converts to just over one ton of carbon dioxide.

A round trip to Prague in a Boeing 737 would use about 5 tons of fuel each way = 10 tons which converts to 31 tons of carbon dioxide.  This needs to be multiplied by the radiative force index (2.7) to reflect the particular problem with aircraft emissions at high altitude so it is the equivalent of 84 tons of carbon dioxide.

Another way of looking at this is by looking at the flights in and out of Stansted Airport which are currently producing the equivalent of 19,000 tons of carbon dioxide every day.  One ton of carbon dioxide produced by the motorcade is regrettable but a small price to pay if it helps us rein back expansion plans which would result in Stansted producing the equivalent of 63,000 tons of carbon dioxide every day.

Expected timings for the lead vehicle in the convoy which will travel at an average speed of 20 miles per hour are as follows:

10.00am         Assemble at BIRCHANGER SERVICES to decorate cars
10.30am         depart BIRCHANGER SERVICES
10.35am         BIRCHANGER VILLAGE (Phone Box)
10.42am         BURTON END (Phone Box)
10.53am         ELSENHAM (The Crown)
11.01am         HENHAM (The Cock)
11.06am         PLEDGDON HALL
11.12am         WHITEHALL HOTEL, BROXTED
11.15am         THE MALTINGS, BROXTED
11.19am         TILTY CHURCH
11.22am         DUTON HILL (The Three Horseshoes)
11.27am         GREAT EASTON (The Swan)
11.30am         GREAT EASTON (Water Lane/Muscombs)
11.32am         BROXTED HILL FARM (media photocall point)
11.35am         BROWNS END COTTAGE, BROXTED
11.38am         BRICK END, BROXTED (The Prince of Wales)
11.42am         MOLEHILL GREEN (Post Office/Shop)
11.44am         WALTHAM HALL
11.47am         BAMBERS GREEN
11.50am         SMITHS GREEN
11.52am         TAKELEY (The Four Ashes)
11.56am         COOPERS END (mini roundabout)
12.00noon      Finish at MOLEHILL GREEN (Three Horseshoes)

MEDIA CONTACTS

Carol Barbone, Campaign Director, Stop Stansted Expansion M 0777 552 3091 or cbarbone@mxc.co.uk
SSE Campaign Office 01279 870558 or info@stopstanstedexpansion.com