Agenda and minutes

All Members of the Executive were present and there were no apologies for absence.

There were no declarations of interest other than those already tabled for the Council meeting earlier the same night.

(The report is being circulated with the agenda for the special council meeting on the same date)

Report DRR15/097

At its meeting on 25^th March 2015, the Executive had considered a proposal from Biggin Hill Airport Limited (BHAL) to vary the operating hours of the Airport, pursuant to the terms of the lease. Following a meeting of the full Council to consider the proposal, the Executive had resolved as follows -

“In consideration of proposals from Biggin Hill Airport Limited to vary the operating hours at Biggin Hill Airport it is RESOLVED to:

(1)  agree the following recommendation from Council –

“That subject to agreement from the airport to all concessions, conditions, and obligations which can reasonably be required in consideration for agreeing a variation to the operating criteria in the third schedule to the lease, and subject to the Executive being satisfied with the concessions, conditions and obligations negotiated, the Executive should then agree in principle to the extension of hours and consult again with council before the final decision is made”; and

(2)  the recommendation above is to be taken forward subject to negotiations with Biggin Hill Airport Limited on concessions, conditions and obligations, including a variation to operating hours for Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays based on 8am to 10pm rather than the operating hours proposed by BHAL, namely 6.30am to 11pm on Saturdays and 8am to 11pm on Sundays.”

Extensive negotiations had been conducted by officers and the Council’s technical advisors with BHAL since then, and the modified proposals had been re-presented by BHAL. The Council had met earlier that evening to consider and make a recommendation on the latest proposals, and the Leader thanked Members for their contributions to a significant and valuable debate. The following motion (proposed by Councillor Nicholas Bennett and seconded by Councillor Julian Benington) had been passed by full Council –

“That this Council, noting its resolution at the meeting on March 25th 2015 to the Executive, and the subsequent negotiations; recommends to the Executive that BHAL's proposals for an amendment of the operating schedule of the lease, subject to the concessions, conditions and obligations as detailed in the Council's technical advisor's report and any other matters which the Executive believes are necessary, be approved.”

The Executive considered the report, taking advice from senior officers and the Council’s noise consultant. It was noted that the Council did not have unfettered discretion in its negotiations with the airport, and under the terms of the Airport lease it should not unreasonably withhold its consent to variations in the lease. A key part of BHAL’s application was the introduction of a formal Noise Action Plan (NAP), which had been revised since the March meeting. This would be reviewed after 5 years.  Noise monitoring and aircraft tracking systems would be introduced in conjunction with this.

The following issues, which had also been raised at the Council meeting, were considered in particular.

The Noise Consultant’s Report 

The Director of Regeneration and Transformation confirmed that of the 18 conditions, 8 were now satisfied (1-7 and 18); 3 required approval  of statutory bodies, e.g.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 295.