Stansted inquiry begins
Updated on 30 May 2007
The future of Stansted airport is up for debate after plans to expand the airport were blocked by the local council.
Operator BAA wants to increase the number of passengers to 35 million passengers a year by extending the Essex airport's runway. It also wants to increase the number of permitted air traffic movements from 241,000 to 264,000 per year.
But Uttlesford District Council rejected BAA's planning bid in November 2006. BAA has appealed against the decision - and now the matter will be reviewed by planning inspector Alan Boyland.
He will hear presentations from both sides of the dispute, including a prominent Inuit speaker on the link between aviation and the demise of Greenland's ecosystem. The inquiry is expected to run until October.
The extended runway is opposed by local residents concerned about noise pollution and climate change. The campaign group Stop Stansted Expansion (SSE) has been demonstrating outside Endeavour House, where the inquiry is taking place.
