Article on The Ecologist website

Manchester Airport - the concrete shadow spreads 

22nd February 2014

The new Manchester Airport Enterprise Zone is causing the piecemeal environmental destruction of Green Belt countryside - all sacrificed to an archaic vision of fossil-powered economic growth.

Earthworks under way and trees felled at the 'World Logistics Hub' site. Photo: Jonathan Gatward

A vast swathe of open countryside is being lost to construction projects to support the growth of air traffic at Manchester Airport. The development of an Enterprise Zone, link road and 9,000-space car park is proceeding apace in the face of resistance from local communities. And the Government is backing it all to the hilt - even though the planned increases in air and road travel make a mockery of its greenhouse gas emission reduction commitments. If the developers get their way - which barring a massive upsurge in resistance they will - far more will go the same way. READ MORE