Intro
The Master Plan area extends to around 186 ha and encompasses the operational area of the Airport along with areas of land to the north and south of the airfield where development to support its growth is planned (Appendix 1). The majority of the Master Plan area is within the ownership of LJLA.
Location and ease of access
Liverpool is strategically located on the North West coast within the North European Trade Axis (NETA) which links northern Europe, northern England, Wales and Ireland, and the south to north corridor from London and Birmingham to the West of Scotland. LJLA provides the city with connectivity to a wide range of UK and European cities and regions. Figure 3.2 shows Liverpool’s strategic connections with the rest of Europe (overleaf).
LJLA is located 11 km (7 miles) to the south east of the City Centre. It lies on the northern coast of the Mersey Estuary. The Airport is predominantly within the City of Liverpool but parts of it, including some of the Master Plan proposals, are within the administrative area of Halton.
LJLA is accessible to other modes of transport. It has dual carriageway access to the national motorway network, including the M56, M57, M62 and M6 (Junction 6 of the M62 is approximately 10 km (6.2 miles) to the north east of LJLA). It is served by rail via Liverpool South Parkway transport interchange, and Runcorn station on the West Coast line. It is within 20 km (12.4 miles) of Seaforth Deep-sea Container Terminal and two major freight ferry terminals to Ireland.
Road access from Cheshire and North Wales has been significantly improved following the opening of the Mersey Gateway – a second river crossing near Runcorn that links to the M56.
Frequent bus services provide connections to Liverpool South Parkway transport interchange which connects with mainline and local rail services, including Liverpool and Manchester city centres, neighbouring towns and residential areas.
The principal access to LJLA is by road from Speke Boulevard (A561) via Speke Hall Avenue – a dual carriageway. Access to the business and general aviation centre and the Airport’s administration offices is via Hale Road.
LJLA lies approximately 10 km (6.2 miles) to the south east of Liverpool City Centre on the northern bank of the Mersey Estuary (see Figure 1.1). Its neighbours include the residential communities of Speke to the north and Hale Village, within the Borough of Halton, to the east. To the west, LJLA borders Liverpool International Business Park and the grounds of Speke Hall with the communities of Garston and Allerton beyond.
To the south, between the runway and the Estuary, is agricultural land known as the Oglet. The control tower and radar installation are situated within the Oglet and are accessed separately off Dungeon Lane, which passes close to the eastern end of the runway.
There are several environmentally sensitive sites in the vicinity of LJLA (see Appendix 3). The Mersey Estuary, consisting of large areas of saltmarsh, intertidal sand and mudflats, is an internationally important site for wildfowl and Liverpool’s pre-eminent environmental asset (see Chapter 9). It is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Special Protection Area (SPA) and as a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention7 due to its importance to passage and wintering wildfowl and waders. The birds feed on the rich invertebrate fauna of the intertidal sediments as well as plants and seeds from the salt-marsh and agricultural land. The Estuary is also a valuable staging post for migrating birds in spring and autumn.
Speke Hall is a Grade 1 listed building set within a historic park and gardens of regional importance, owned and managed by the National Trust. There are six listed buildings on the wider Speke Hall site, including Home Farm. A planted mound to the east of the Speke Hall visitor car park provides visual and physical enclosure along this boundary with LJLA.
Hale Village contains several listed buildings and two Conservation Areas.
The Speke Estate is home to around 16,000 residents. The Estate has seen around £100 million of investment in improving its housing stock and enhancing living conditions. The Airport supports ongoing regeneration; e.g. by working with local agencies such as Liverpool In Work to provide opportunities for local people to take jobs at LJLA.
Current facillites
The operational site of LJLA, which is edged red at Appendix 1, extends to around 186 ha (460 acres). The runway and its associated taxiway is aligned east-west across the site. All terminal, aprons, cargo buildings and airside facilities are currently situated on land to the north of the runway and south of Hale Road. The ATC tower and radar installation are situated to the south of the runway in the Oglet (See Figure 3.3).
Runway, Taxiway and Aprons
The current runway (bearing 09/27) is 2,286m long. A full length parallel taxiway to the north of the runway serves all airside facilities. The main aircraft stands provide capacity for 28 aircraft and are situated towards the north western part of the site.
A landing light gantry extends into the River Mersey at the western end of the runway. To the east, landing lights are situated on land to the east of Dungeon Lane. Both of these lighting installations are outside the operational site boundary.
Main Passenger Facilities
The terminal and main passenger car parks (see Figure 3.3) are accessed directly from Speke Hall Avenue. The three-storey terminal is visible from both the eastern and western approaches, which ensures that passengers are able to find their way to the building conveniently.
The terminal is sited parallel to the runway for reasons of operational efficiency and ease of access to airfield facilities. It was constructed in 2001 and planning permission was granted for an extension of the terminal to the west shortly after9. Additional floor space has since been constructed to provide more gate lounges and improved internal flexibility and scope exists under that consent to provide further floor space.
It is essentially a clear span building within which the various elements of passenger processing, security and retail operate. The departure hall houses 44 check-in desks and can handle over 1,000 passengers at busy times (usually 6.00 to 9.00 am). There are 14 gates to the east and west of the departure lounge.
Bus stops, taxi ranks, and car parks are immediately adjacent to the terminal building. The arrivals hall also includes booking desks for car hire, a public transport information point run jointly with Merseytravel and tourism information facilities.
The main passenger terminal car parking areas (around 8,000 spaces) are situated to the north, north-west and north-east of the terminal. Car hire and staff parking facilities are located to the west of the terminal. A Hampton by Hilton Hotel is also immediately adjacent to the terminal building, with a Premier Inn, Holiday Inn Express and Crowne Plaza in close proximity.
LJLA recognises that it operates in a highly competitive environment and competes for customers across the Region with other UK airports. Over the past three years, LJLA has focussed its investments and activity on enhancing the customer experience and the product offer
at the Airport. LJLA has recently invested £2m on refurbishing the departure hall, replacing airport toilets, and providing a new car park offer. A further £4m is currently being invested to provide a broader and improved retail and food and beverage offer in the departures area.
Cargo Handling Facilities
Cargo handling and distribution facilities are located to both the east and west of the terminal building. TNT has a well-established operation at LJLA having been based there since 1988. It expanded its operation by opening a new state of the art freight distribution facility to the
east of the terminal. There is one bonded transit shed at LJLA; (i.e. a building with both land-side and air-side access, which are approved
by HM Customs and Excise for the control and distribution of import and export cargo) and this shed is operated and managed by Wynne Aviation a Liverpool based freight and trucking company that took over the shed in March 2017. Wynne is actively looking to develop the cargo throughput both by road and air at LJLA.
Business Aviation & General Aviation
Business and general aviation (BAGA) facilities are situated to the
east of the terminal complex between the runway and Hale Road. Lead tenant, Ravenair, operates two purpose-built hangars having a combined footprint of 4,750 sq m (51,000 sq ft), with a third facility planned. Ravenair offers maintenance and storage of aircraft, flight training, and business charter services.
Keenair operates a CAA approved maintenance facility from a 1,670
sq m (18,000 sq ft) hangar to the west of Ravenair’s hangars in association with the Liverpool Flying School which offers flight training services from the same facilities. The Cheshire Air Training Service and Helicentre offer flight training and charter services on aeroplanes and helicopters, respectively.
LJLA is an important destination for executive and business visitors to the region; e.g. VIP visits to local companies and for sporting and cultural events. Liverpool Aviation Services (LAS), a subsidiary of Ravenair, provide the Fixed Based Operator (FBO) services to visiting aircraft using their facility on the General Aviation apron, with larger aircraft accommodated on the main apron as required.
Military, Police and Aid Flights
LJLA caters for a variety of flights organised by the military services, Police, Government and by aid and refugee agencies for humanitarian purposes.
Aircraft Maintenance
easyTech undertakes around the clock maintenance services from Hangar 2 on easyJet A319/A320 aircraft. Both Ryanair and Blue Air employ their own engineers to provide basic maintenance for their B737 fleets. When necessary, aircraft engine tests are performed on a section of taxiway to the west of the airfield.
Air Traffic Control
A new control tower was constructed in the Oglet to the south of the runway in 2002 to comply with CAA regulations, which require air traffic controllers to have clear unobstructed views of the airport movement area, including all parking aprons. The location of the tower was selected as being future proofed for all further development both north and south of the runway. It is 41 m high above ground level with a concrete column and pre- formed viewing cab.
Fire Station and Training Rig
The current fire station is located east of the terminal building, adjacent to the old control tower. The station has five bays for Rescue and Fire Fighting Service (RFFS) vehicles, in addition to space for offices, training, equipment support, and staff accommodation.
The fire training rig is situated on a disused section of the taxiway on the west of the airfield and is fitted with a steel replica Boeing 767 fuselage and a breathing apparatus heat and smoke chamber. These use pressurized hydrocarbon fuel to simulate various emergency conditions during training exercises.
Engine Testing
Engine testing currently takes place on a taxiway to the west of the terminal. Whilst this location remains suitable in the short term, as the Airport grows this activity would need to be relocated. The most appropriate location for a new facility is considered to be south of the runway adjacent at the west end of the development. This is furthest from residential areas and as such would minimise noise impacts. It would also be close to the longer-term cargo and maintenance facilities south of the runway and would therefore be operationally convenient.
Radar Installation
A replacement radar comprising the latest technology has been installed on a site to the south of the runway and west of the control tower. This would be relocated to the west by 2030 to allow for the new MRO apron.
Fuel Farm
The existing fuel farm location is capable of being extended to cater for the fuel needs arising from the proposed growth of LJLA up to 2030, however provision has been made to relocate it to the north by 2050 once the pier has been extended.
A small fuel facility would also be required to serve the General and Business Aviation Centre.
Office and Commercial Accommodation
The Airport’s offices and those of airlines and other businesses based at LJLA are accommodated mainly in a variety of temporary modular buildings to the east of the terminal. Permanent accommodation is required as part of the expansion proposals. In order to maximise the employment generating potential of LJLA, it is intended to provide accommodation for a wide variety of businesses that will need to be located in close proximity to the terminal and other landside and airside facilities. An area has therefore been allocated immediately to the east of the terminal.
Renewable Energy Generation
There is an opportunity to use an area of land to the north of the extended runway to deliver a solar farm which will generate renewable energy to support the operation of the Airport and adjacent uses.
Sustainable Design and Construction
The proposals will result in a significant increase in the quantum of commercial and terminal floorspace in order to meet projected demands and create the required number of jobs.
The Airport recognises the importance of ensuring any new buildings are designed and constructed in a sustainable manner as set out in Policy SPT2 of the draft Local Plan and positively address a range of issues which include;
• The use of recognised sustainable building design metrics such as BREEAM where appropriate to the building type
• The management and reduction of construction and operational waste from the commercial and terminal buildings through the creation of an Airport Waste Management Strategy
• Measures to improve biodiversity on site where appropriate and through the proposed coastal nature reserve
• The use of sustainable materials, procured locally where possible; and
• Efficient use of resources such as water and energy.
LJLA will develop and implement a comprehensive sustainability strategy that addresses any environmental impact resulting from the expansion of LJLA and delivers a world class, sustainable airport expansion.
The need for land outside the Airport’s current ownership
The proposals outlined in this Master Plan cannot be realised exclusively on land currently owned by the Airport, albeit much of that which could be required is already within the ownership of the Airport, including the farmland of the Oglet and some of the land required for the EATC. A relatively small amount of land and property owned by other individuals and organisations could be needed.
If such third party owned land were to be needed, it would be the Airport’s hope to purchase the necessary property by agreement with the owners, as has been the case in the past. If potential acquisition by agreement is not practicable, or cannot be reached on acceptable terms, the Airport and the relevant Highways Authority would have powers of compulsory acquisition. However, there are set procedures that must be followed and compulsory purchase is always subject to Ministerial confirmation.
For property needed exclusively for airport facilities other than roads, the Airport would be responsible for the compulsory purchase procedures. However, at this stage it has not been determined whether the Airport, or the Highways Authority, would promote a Compulsory Purchase Order for the property needed exclusively for road access. This will be discussed with the relevant authorities at an appropriate later stage.
Compensation
Property owners would not be prejudiced by selling by agreement rather than by through compulsory purchase. Owners selling by agreement would be entitled to the market value of their property. For tenants of properties being sold, the Airport would offer assistance with relocation. Property now in the Airport’s ownership, or land purchased in the future, would be retained in existing use where possible until required for airport development.
Owners, lessees, tenants and those with an existing interest in land which would be affected need take no action at present, although it would be useful to notify the Airport of their existing interest.