Crispin Blunt raises flights and rail issues with Ministers

Thursday, 17 November, 2016

This week Crispin Blunt has raised local aviation and rail issues with Transport Ministers as concerns mount about the highly concentrated Gatwick westerly departure Route 4 and the ongoing rail service delivery problems.

On Monday Crispin met Lord Ahmad, the Minister responsible for Aviation, to seek a solution for Route 4 which would put departures back to a conventional pattern, dispersed across the take-off track (known as the Noise Preferential Route) until new Government policy is agreed for airspace design and precision navigation in 2018. The Minister understood the level of concern about the current concentrated flight path and promised to look into whether, using the new route, aeroplanes are turning more sharply and gaining less height thereby causing more noise.

Crispin Blunt said:

“The Minister will be bringing forward proposals to update Government policy on airspace and to support local solutions in consultation with local communities. This could include multiple departure routes to spread the noise burden. The new Aviation Strategy will not be in place until 2018, so I will be asking the Head of Airspace at Gatwick Airport when I meet him tomorrow to put Route 4 back to its old flying pattern pre-2014 until the route can be designed according to the new national guidance.”

Crispin has also been raising the plight of rail users with the Secretary of State for Transport, Chris Grayling MP, in private and today in the House of Commons, seeking proper compensation for the Southern Rail disruption and more investment in the local rail infrastructure.

“The Transport Secretary assured me that he is developing detailed plans for infrastructure improvements to ensure the Brighton Mainline can be made resilient. I will be following up with specific suggestions being put together in conjunction with representatives of local rail users, local business organisations and the County and Borough councils. These were discussed at a meeting I hosted with local stakeholders in October.

“I have also written to the Rail Minister to see if he can end the impasse on fares - whereby Govia Thameslink refer fares issues, including the Travelcard zonal fares campaign, to the Department for Transport and the Department for Transport refer these issues to the train operating company.”