At its summer meeting the consultative committee decided to exclude HACAN East from membership (1). It gave no reason.
The function of consultative committees is to hold the airport to account. The committee usually includes local authorities and representatives of businesses and the local community. HACAN, the sister organisation of HACAN East which represents residents in <place w:st=”on”>West London</place>, has been a member of the Heathrow consultative committee for many years. Earlier this year the Environment Committee of the London Assembly recommended that HACAN East be invited to join the consultative committee of <place w:st=”on”><placetype w:st=”on”>City</placetype> <placetype w:st=”on”>Airport</placetype></place>.
Murad Qureshi, the chair of the Environment Committee, said, "I am disappointed that the London City Airport have not taken up the recommendations of the Assembly’s Environment Committee that the representation on their consultative committee should better reflect a broad range of interests, in a similar way to the membership of the Heathrow Airport Consultative Committee."
John Stewart, chair of HACAN East said, “It is a clear snub. Just what is the committee so afraid of?”
ENDS
Notes for Editors:
(1). The relevant section from the minutes of the Committee Meeting:
“At its last meeting the Committee agreed that the Committee’s officers should meet with John Stewart of HACAN concerning the London Assembly’s suggestion that the membership of the Consultative Committee should be enlarged to include a representative of HACAN. The meeting with John Stewart took place at Kings Cross on 23rd April 2012 and members had been briefed on the discussions. Following consideration members had decided that HACAN should not be invited to be members of the Consultative Committee at <place w:st=”on”><placename w:st=”on”>London</placename> <placetype w:st=”on”>City</placetype></place> and the Airport would be recommended accordingly”. Full minutes: http://www.lcacc.org/accmins/accmin0712.pdf