Greens attack minister and Dawe over airport expansion

Published on Thursday 15 May 2008 10:28

GREENS have hit out at a planning blueprint for west Edinburgh, branding it "anything but sustainable".

And they accused Infrastructure Minister Stewart Stevenson and council leader Jenny Dawe of inconsistency over their support for the document.

The West Edinburgh Planning Framework, published on Tuesday, confirmed the allocation of land for the expansion of Edinburgh Airport and put the idea of an M8 link road to the airport back on the agenda, as well as a new International Business Gateway.

But Edinburgh Green group convener Councillor Alison Johnstone said: "The report suggests that it's a framework to support increased sustainable growth while supporting the allocation of land for Edinburgh Airport's growth to 2020.

"It's like Jenny Dawe and the SNP live in two parallel worlds at the same time, one where climate change matters and we should cut our emissions, and another where we need airport expansion and endless unlimited flying. They must either think air travel doesn't have any emissions, or that no-one will notice their inconsistency. They're wrong on both counts."