East Midlands Airport Company no: EAST MIDLANDS AIRPORT INDEPENDENT CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE GENERAL MEETING

Transcription

1 East Midlands Airport Company no: EAST MIDLANDS AIRPORT INDEPENDENT CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE GENERAL MEETING APPROVED Minutes of the Meeting held at DHL Offices, East Midlands Airport 17 October 2014 Present: Independent Chairman Users: Consumers Association/WHICH DHL Aviation Ltd Derby, Notts & Leics Chamber of Commerce Local Authorities: Charnwood Borough Council Erewash Borough Council Leicestershire County Council Nottinghamshire County Council Rushcliffe Borough Council South Derbyshire District Council Local Groups: CPRE Nottinghamshire and Rushcliffe Derbyshire Association of Local Councils Kings Newton Residents Association Leicestershire & Rutland Association of Local Councils Melbourne Civic Society PAIN - People Against Intrusive Noise SAVE - Save Aston Village Environment WINGS East Midlands Airport: Corporate Affairs Director M.A.G. Principal Planner Head of Customer Services Community Relations Manager Retail Operations Co-ordinator Minute Secretary Mr B Whyman MBE, Ch, JP Mr I Jones Mr P Hewett Mr C Hobson Councillor K Jones Councillor R Parkinson Mr T Pendleton Councillor A Brown Councillor M Males Councillor J Harrison Mrs B Walker Councillor S Jackson Mr S Leech Councillor A Sowter Dr P Grimley Mrs P Beddoe Mr J Gidlow Mr ML Hening Mr N Robinson Mr J Bottomley Mr H Ebison Ms A Thomson Mr N Maltby Mrs A Lamin I C C 1 7 O c t o b e r P a g e 1 6

2 14/21 APOLOGIES AND DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST: Apologies were received from Dr A Manhire, Councillor C Smith, Ms C Barker, Mr A Cliffe. There were no declarations of interest. Dr P Grimley, ICC Vice Chairman chaired the meeting for items 14/21 and 14/22 and apologies were received from Mr B Whyman, Chairman for late arrival due to traffic problems. 14/22 MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON 4 JULY 2014 a. The minutes of the meeting held on 4 July were accepted as a true record but a member reported that the Chairman had confirmed he received expenses for his role. b. There were no outstanding matters arising. 14/23 CHAIRMAN S REPORT The Chairman reported several items which have also been reported to the recent MENT and TEP committee meetings: (i) (ii) The EMA Escape/Executive lounge is now open and available to passengers. The terminal redevelopments will be completed by the end of this year. A member recommended that ICC members view the new developments and EMA confirmed proposals will be circulated to ICC members. Recent reports showed that Airport earnings rose by 7% to 54m and passenger numbers rose by 9%. Car parking capacity has increased to 10,522 on-site spaces. (iii) MAG has 45k employees and contributes 4bn to the regional economy. 668 people have been employed through the Airport Academy Scheme and 300k has been given to community groups to 229 separate organisations through the Community Fund. A member said it was good that profits were increasing and asked if EMA would consider dropping the 1 drop off charge at the terminals. EMA confirmed that free drop off was available in the long stay car parks and there are no plans to change the existing arrangements. (iv) (v) (vi) Holiday travellers via EMA have increased with +6k passengers over the August Bank holiday. Twitter carried both good and bad comments with slow security and queues highlighted. EMA advised delays due to a fire alarm incident when sprinklers were activated which necessitated evacuation of the departure area. Actual disruption was two flight delays of thirty minutes. Complaints were noted on queues at arrivals. This was discussed at the TEP meeting. EMA confirmed that if flights run to schedule there should be no problems but early or late arrivals can result in queues. The Border Agency will not compromise security. EMA advised that there are plans for schedule coordination where airlines will need to manage departures to fit scheduled arrival slots. EMA confirmed the facility recently upgraded to free Wi-fi for 60 minutes with the plan to move to free unlimited access in the future. Unlimited free Wi-fi is available in the Escape lounge. A member asked how much income was received from Wi-fi charges and EMA will advise details. 14/24 ON-SITE EMPLOYMENT SURVEY I C C 1 7 O c t o b e r P a g e 2 6

3 Dr Grimley outlined discussions at the recent TEP meeting. The last On-Site Employment Survey (ES) was conducted in 2013 with no plans for a survey in The continuity of the ES was therefore queried as the ES forms an integral part of local planning policy, the performance of the airport, postcode analysis, and the assessment of transport services. It was considered that the EMA ES is a good and valuable report. Dr Grimley therefore formally requested transparency and information on when the ES will be produced and said that every two years would be acceptable and should be properly resourced and produced as it is a valuable report. EMA accepted the comments made and confirmed the ES information is a valuable feed in to local plans and the economic impact of the airport. Producing the ES is labour intensive and not replicated in such detail at other airports and is complementary to the Travel to Work Survey. The recommendation therefore is to produce both reports biennially and alternately ie Year One Employment Survey, Year Two Travel to Work Survey. In response to a member query, EMA advised that payroll interrogation would not provide the detailed information required on local employment. Members accepted the recommendations and proposals outlined by EMA. 14/25 CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE GUIDELINES AND CONSTITUTION The Chairman proposed that a member from each ICC group join a working group to consider the detail of the Guidelines and the updating of the Constitution. The following members were proposed and agreed: Chairman Vice Chairman/Local Groups User Group/WHICH Local Authority/Leicestershire County Council Mr B Whyman Dr P Grimley Dr A Manhire Mr T Pendleton EMA will also be part of the working group. EMA will organise a meeting of the group and a report will be submitted to the next ICC meeting. 14/26 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PLAN Jon Bottomley presented and outlined details. (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) The SDP s purpose and approach four separate documents Background a. Updating the 2006 MasterPlan b Aviation Framework c. New Community Plan d. ICC presentations in October 2013 and February 2014 Outline of plan summaries Public consultation limited responses but detailed and informative replies Areas of change a. More details of aircraft movements and forecasts b. Explanation of the difference between EMA and DfT forecasts c. Greater clarity of economic and employment opportunities in the area d. Greater emphasis and detail on the development of public transport links e. More detail on the public transport network to the south eg Coalville f. The impact of the airport on highway networks g. Clarity that the Noise Section of the Environment Plan is consistent with the Noise Action Plan h. Information on SIGS i. How local authorities can contribute to the community and airport activity Next steps I C C 1 7 O c t o b e r P a g e 3 6

4 a. Amendments to be made to the draft documents b. Publish the final SDP at the end of October/early November c. Public statements of the airport s ambition and future growth d. Evidence base for planning policy e. Context set for future developments on the airport site f. Biennial monitoring report g. SDP review every five years In response to members queries, EMA advised that HS2 has its own catchment areas and demands. Nottingham and Derby are key. A rail link to EMA is not an economic proposition. There is an ongoing debate about the location of an East Midlands rail station. The EMA position is that a rail hub needs efficient links to the airport and that it should deliver regional connectivity. The Sustainable Development Plan 2016 Monitoring report would include details of the 2015 Employment Survey. In relation to J24 interchange and the Roxhill development, EMA confirmed protecting accessibility to EMA is vital for both passengers and staff and discussions between EMA and the developers are ongoing. The current J24 island modifications routing to J23A are are considered to be beneficial to EMA. EMA s position on the Roxhill development is currently neutral. EMA maintains a close relationship with Donington Racetrack organisers and local authorities to minimise access problems to the airport on event days. Full details of local events and potential traffic issues are on the EMA website. The limit on the night noise contour area has been reduced to 55dB from 57dB with no change in the contour area. The Davis Report is due following the General Election and EMA confirmed plans are predicated on proposals for an additional runway in the south east. EMA confirmed that reviews of Environmental Measures 2015/16 will be included in future MENT agenda together with a review timetable. 14/27 RETAIL DEVELOPMENT Nick Maltby, Retail Operations Co-Ordinator gave a detailed presentation. Key points included: Flying Into the Future o 20m investment o Early 2015 completion o New security area o Duty Free o Catering o Retail Updated, upgraded and redesigned departure area Enhancing the customer experience Zoned airport journey 100% footfall aim every passenger travels past each retail unit Tender process for retailers o Concession fee model (concession paid on percentage of sales) Selection criteria New retail offering o World Duty Free o New and enhanced brands introduced o New partner Superdrug o Boots in arrival area including pharmacist I C C 1 7 O c t o b e r P a g e 4 6

5 o Sceptre Leisure gaming area bespoke unit o WH Smith new store Catering o Autogrill HMS 7 new catering units o Frankie and Bennys first sit down restaurant at EMA o Locally sourced products Escape lounge o Rolling out through MAG o Managed in-house New specialist retailers o 7 new retail units to let o Opening early 2015 o More specialist retail areas Shopping services o Promoting one carry on-board shopping bag o Collect on-return service for EU passengers Boarding card requirement o Checking eligibility o Non-EU passenger tax returns o Measuring spend to tailor range to flights and customers Members thanked Nick Maltby for the detailed presentation. In response to questions it was confirmed that restaurants are available airside; Duty Free is restricted to eligible passengers; passenger opinions and demographic information inform brands accepted. A member said that passengers make decisions on airports relating to airlines and destinations not on retail. EMA confirmed the aim is to provide a good experience to passengers. A member expressed disappointment on losing Boots who provided good quality quick food and said from a woman s perspective there is no advantage in buying perfumes and cosmetics at an airport. EMA said the growth area is in catering and accepted that product prices can be matched elsewhere. However, exclusive offers are available to maintain competitiveness and support a good customer experience. It was confirmed that children s menus are available. There is alternative seating available at the Gates and dwell spaces. EMA confirmed consideration of issues and facilities available to PRMs. The PRM OCS service will be transferred in-house and it gives EMA greater flexibility on the delivery of these services. 14/28 AIRPORT REPORT a. Finance Statistics In response to a member query, EMA advised it is not cheaper for airlines to fly at night rather than during the day; b. Community Relations update Project recommendations are invited from ICC members for the EMA Volunteer programme. The Community Fund recently awarded the 1,000 th grant to local organisations. c. Planning applications accepted as circulated d. Passenger Services Update accepted as circulated e. Environment report accepted as circulated 14/29 FUTURE MEETINGS The schedule of 2015/16 meeting dates was accepted as circulated. The next ICC General meeting is on 6 March I C C 1 7 O c t o b e r P a g e 5 6

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