Transfer of
Nantes-Atlantique Airport
Report of the Dialogue Commission
by Claude Chéreau,
Claude Brévan and Rouchdy Kbaier
9 April 2013
Original:
French
Original Address:
http://www.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/SC600413040916180-1.pdf
Move to : http://www.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/Le_rapport_de_la_commission_de_dialogue.pdf on 12th of April.
Full report: 64
pages
pages 58 to 64:
Conclusions and Recommendations
Conclusions
and Recommendations
1. Air traffic growth at Nantes
seems set to continue, albeit at a slower rate than over the past few years.
Forecasts to 2030 are realistic, judging by growth over the past years, which
has been faster than was only recently considered optimistic. The hypothesis of
nine million passengers by 2050 is however more in the nature of an aim put
forward for the purposes of calibrating a development project rather than a
forecast, given the economic and social uncertainties over such a span of
time. If in the long run the project
were ever to reach that number of passengers, an international airport in the
West of France would not relieve air traffic at Charles-de-Gaulle Roissy, as
some have stated, but would rather allow the « Grand Ouest » area to
do away with the need to go through Paris to gain access to European as well as
major French cities. This airport would represent the implementation of a
decentralisation policy.
2. The current airport could only
accomodate significant growth in passenger numbers if large-scale and
disruptive work were to be undertaken. Air traffic forecasts estimate a number
of four million passengers by 2018-2020, which is equivalent to the saturation
level estimated at the time of the public debate held for the existing
terminal. Sucessive retrofits and extensions have not led to an improvement of
its operations and have taken up a substantial amount of space while requiring
an increased number of pathways and security areas. This possibility of a
re-design was however one of the main arguments put forward by those opposing
the transfer of the airport to a new location.
The commission recommends that
Government services undertake a more in-depth evaluation of the
Nantes-Atlantique retrofitting costs both with the current runway and with the
runway orientation changed crosswise. This assessment would present the
advantage of putting an end to sterile polemics, as it would be based on
concrete and verifiable facts. It could
be carried out with the involvement of those opponents who would be prepared to
have their data compared to such an estimation.
Moreover, beyond 55000 aircraft movements,
the airport nuisance to the residents of Nantes would be excessive. The
redesigning of Nantes-Atlantique does not therefore appear to the Comission to
be a viable long-term solution.
Technically difficult and highly disruptive to local residents, this
option would amount to a voluntary limitation of airport capacity, thereby
preventing the amortization of the refurbishment costs which would be incurred
for even a limited capacity increase. This option would be detrimental to the
economic development of the region.
3. Many questions remain as to the
future development of the Nantes-Atlantique site. It is essential to clarify the issue of its
planning once the commercial airport is transfered away.
The Commission recommends the following:
- Reach a decision quickly as to whether or not to preserve the runway
for Airbus, and define the company's needs for expansion.
- Specify the actual surface area that would made available by the
airport transfer, as well as the use to which that area would be put.
Theoretical figures have varied, from 252 hectares including
70 hectares
to be integrated into an urban forest in the city, after clearing of the
airport site, to a more reduced figure of 80 hectares more
recently put forward.
- In general terms, provide for public consultations on a
comprehensive development project for these districts located in the South of
the Nantes conurbation.
4. The noise exposure maps for
Nantes-Atlantique and Notre-Dame-des-Landes were established on assumptions
that should be updated to take into account new aircraft movement forecasts as
well as technical advances in aircraft design.
A draft noise exposure map has been
developed for Nantes-Atlantique at the request of the Commission. Such a map
should be developed for Notre-Dame-des-Landes as well. The Commission morevoer
recommends that sound insulation grant schemes be liberally applied in
proximity to the Notre-Dame-des-Landes airport, as noise is more sharply
perceived in a quiet environment than in an urban setting which is already
noisy. The Commission moreover
recommends that recreational aviation and sightseeing flights, which are very
noisy, be entirely barred from the projected airport.
5. The medium-term change of
scale of the transfered airport, with a greater number of point-to-point
connections to destinations with economic potential may represent an advantage
for the competitiveness of the Loire and Bretagne regions by opening them up to
areas outside France and attracting international business and tourism. Even
though international traffic represents 50% of the total volume at
Nantes-Atlantique, this airport lags behind in this respect, as it only offers
25 European destinations (not all of which are cities with economic potential),
while Lyon offers 40. The Commission nevertheless emphasizes that while
rapid and high-performance access without transit through Paris is a need for
businesses, especially as regards the option of making return journeys in the
same day, such access is nevertheless not sufficient. Such an advantage would remain merely
potential until such time as it could be realized within the framework of an
export-oriented economy and with the establishment of international businesses
in the region. Similar statements apply to the development of tourism or
business travel originating outside the region.
Such travel could be boosted if direct connections were established to
the capitals and major cities of Europe. These are not however the destinations
currently being served by Nantes-Atlantique, as the focus is primarily on purely holiday destinations. Developing demand would also require active
measures to promote the potential for tourism in the « Grand Ouest »
region of France, knowledge of which is still quite limited abroad.
6. The proliferation of airports
in the Pays de la Loire and Bretagne regions was referred to on several
occasions and attributed to poor air transport policies. It would seem necessary to give some thought
to the airport network in Western France in order to rationalize the high
number of airports, many of which do not have the critical mass needed to operate
financially independently or to provide regular services to a range of
destinations. The future of Rennes St-Jacques airport was brought up several
times, some believing it would eventually be closed, while others considered
that it might be used for business travel and freight. Amongst the many airports in the region, only
Brest's future stands unchallenged, as that town is remote and therefore has
its own catchment area for travel. The argument that airlines choose their own
airports is a limited one: such freedom of choice should not prevent regions
from possessing an airport with a sufficiently large number of potential users
to provide a full offer of destinations.
7. Access to the airport by
public transportation is a topic that gave rise to many questions and much
scepticism, and would warrant clarification.
While road access is established and provided for in the Déclaration
d'utilité publique, uncertainties remain as regards access by public
transportation. The
Nantes-to-Chateaubriand tram-train will begin operations in 2014, but there is
no prospect or certainty whatsoever that the tram-train line to
Notre-Dame-des-Landes will be built. This project was « associated »
with the airport project when the public enquiry was held, and the Commission
of Inquiry had emphasized the need to take resolute steps towards its
implementation. It would currently
appear that assessments of the profitability of such an infrastructure have led
to its being shelved altogether. Very firm committments on replacement options
should be made and widely publicized. As to the Rennes-Nantes high-speed train
connection, it is included in the National Transport Infrastructure Plan (SNIT)
currently undergoing revision. If this project is indeed approved, it will
nevertheless clearly only be built in a more distant future, given the
scarceness of financial resources. The impact of such a lengthy delay on the
airport's prospects for growth should be assessed.
8.
The elected representatives
of the Erdre et Gèvres municipalities (CCEG) informed the Commission that they
were encountering difficulties with a projet which extended beyond the
boundaries of their localities and seemed to enjoy a de facto status of
extraterritoriality. The Commission deems it necessary for the conditions of
establishment of the airport on the territory of Erdre et Gèvres and of the
Pays de Blain to be determined without delay and to be subjected to a joint
local development approach led by the local authorities directly concerned, in
association with the large municipalities. It is the Commission's view that
a dual approach should be adopted: the large municipalities along with the
localities should be mobilized, and both should be involved upstream in the
process, as early on as the preparation of the financial instruments to be
mobilized within the framework of the future planning for the State/Region
projects and the operational programs FEDER, FEADER, LEADER (2014 to 2020),
amongst others.
9. The Commission
furthermore believes that national and European financing should be leveraged
for farmer-led projects, whose involvement should be sought as of the
preparatory phase relating to the above financial instruments.
10. The sensitive nature of the environmental issues relating to the
impact of the projected airport and of the accompanying road scheme on
agricultural land as well as on the natural environment, wetlands, and
protected species was emphasized by elected representatives, agricultural
unions and nature protection organisations, all of whom communicated their
concerns relating to the design and implementation of the compensatory measures
proposed by the two project owners. The Commission recommends that the
reports of the Task Force of Independent Scientific Experts and of the
Agricultural Commission be carefully analysed before any decision is taken, and
that the reasons guiding such a decision be explained to the public as clearly
as possible.
Whatever the outcome of this decision,
the Commission is of the view that three elements must be significantly
strengthened:
- information of and exchanges with the public in an approach based on
transparency.
- beyond the existing or planned follow-up structures, clearly
expressed objectives for compensation should be established and accompanied by
easily verifiable committments on the part of the projet owner and the State.
- determination of the mechanism for public participation in
implementing these measures.
11. A Peri-urban Agricultural and Natural Protection Perimeter (PPEANP
or PEAN) covering 19300
hectares was established and now constitutes a green
belt which must be preserved exlusively for agricultural purposes for several
decades. However, the Commission, having heard the concerns expressed by the
farmers, questions this provision, which should not represent an excessive
constraint to farmers, and recommends that it be made the subject of a plan of
action.
12. The Grand-Ouest airport [Notre-Dame-des-Landes] aims to be exemplary
in environmenal terms. While this aim
seems to be met as regards the design of the building and of the airport
facilities, it is not achieved in the very large scale consumption of nature
areas and agricultural land. Given the importance of these two aspects, we
believe a better balance should be struck between the interests of the project
and the agricultural and environmental dimensions, even though this may
slightly diminish the landscaping of the airport area.
To this end, it is essential to reduce
as much as possible the area of surfaces to be sealed or otherwise removed from
agricultural use.
Reduce the surface area of car parks by
diminishing the average size of each parking slot and by increasing the
proportion of parking spaces in vertical parking garages once requirements
reach 7500 slots.
Set aside at a minimum 250 hectares of the
land currently designated as « available for development » for a
sufficient length of time to allow for the verification of the effectiveness
of compensatory measures established for
the construction of the first phase of the project.
Reduce the surface area of land
designated as « available for future development », as a 200-hectare
business park is planned near the site and the Grand-Ouest airport
[Notre-Dame-des-Landes] is not designed to process any major volume of freight.
Seek to leverage the value of any
residual land of over one hectare in area.
Examine the option of moving the Eastern
section of the road scheme as close as possible to the occupied sections of the
concession area, including the possibility of abandoning the traffic calming
road design.
Proposals of a more general nature:
13. The matter of the disconnection of a main project from its ancillary
projects is a problem which extends beyond the Grand-Ouest
[Notre-Dame-des-Landes] airport project. It is the view of the Commission that
comprehensive public debates should be held on the project as a whole, i.e. on
the main project, its transportation access and any other ancillary projects,
and that the respective project owners should, following these debates, state
their intention either to implement, to amend, or to abandon these projects.
14. With a view to informing the public as fully as possible, and in
order to integrate the surface areas required for environmental compensation
into the project at an early stage, i.e. as of the Déclaration d'utilité
publique, it appears essential for the project owner to be able to evaluate
these requirements so as to include them into the overall project cost/benefit
analysis.
Signed:
Claude Brévan
Claude Chéreau
Rouchdy Kbaier
Thanks to @takammmo for the translation
