Strategic Aviation SIG (SASIG) - annual report to LGA Board 2025

• Lead Member: Keith Artus (Chairman)
• Lead Officer: SASIG Secretariat c/o Northpoint Aviation Services
• Email: [email protected]
• Address: SASIG Secretariat, c/o Northpoint Aviation London & South East Office, 4, Beacon Avenue, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent, ME19 4QL
• Telephone: 01732 220256
• Website: www.sasig.org.uk

• Broadland District Council
• Cornwall Council
• Crawley Borough Council
• Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council
• East Hertfordshire District Council
• Essex County Council
• Fareham Borough Council
• Hampshire County Council
• Hertfordshire County Council
• Isles of Scilly Council
• London Borough of Hounslow
• London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
• Luton Borough Council
• Reigate & Banstead Borough Council
• Rushmoor Borough Council
• Southend-on-Sea City Council

SASIG’s objectives are:

• to promote the need for long-term, sustainable aviation policies that lead to a reduction in the environmental impact of aviation whilst securing appropriate social and economic benefits;
• to increase understanding of the local and global impacts of aviation on the environment and communities;
• to identify and promote the changes needed to move towards sustainable aviation practices within the industry and Government; and
• to work with other organisations and the Government on the formulation of policy advice.

SASIG Policy Principles

1. To give the people of the UK the social and business opportunities to travel from their nearest airport where feasible.
2. To capture, not stifle, the social and economic benefits of aviation using robust and objective evidence.
3. To direct aviation growth to locations where it will assist sustainable economic regeneration.
4. To minimise adverse impacts – social, economic and environmental – by protecting people and non-transferable habitats.
5. To ensure that the air transport sector rather than local communities pays the full costs of the impact of all air journeys.
6. To offer the aviation industry tough but realistic parameters based upon associated impacts around which to secure growth.
7. To ensure that good quality surface access links are provided to airports, particularly public transport links that create integrated transport hubs.
8. To promote better point to point air services from regional airports, with sensitive control over all impacts.
9. To work with Government and other bodies to ensure that noise impacts as a result of airport growth, airspace changes and flight path changes on local communities are minimised and mitigated.
10. To support the coordination and integration of the full spectrum of national policies on issues relating to aviation. This must accord with international and regional policy-making and implementation.
11. To promote investigation of the impacts of the air freight industry, supporting the development of air freight infrastructure where it is the most appropriate mode.
12. To encourage Governments and the aviation industry to make greater efforts to reduce aviation’s impacts on climate change.
13. To instigate and design, in collaboration with external partners, innovative policies and methodologies for identifying, measuring and addressing effectively the noise, health, social infrastructure and wider strategic planning impacts of airport development.

SASIG strongly supports the Government’s work towards a national aviation policy that:

• Is based on the need to control the impacts rather than the aviation activity.
• Has considered in detail all options for providing capacity to meet forecast demand, and for providing for other, lower levels of demand.
• Embraces the concept of integrated transport provision.
• Audits the parameters that should be used in any forecasts of future demand.
• Adopts an assessment process for aviation developments that explicitly includes all associated costs.
• Sets effective environmental limits for the aviation industry to meet, taking the appropriate form – regulation, charges, taxes, etc.
• Considers and mitigates against the impact of greenhouse gas emissions.
• Develops the economic analysis of aviation, and in particular improves valuation of the net impact – benefits and disbenefits.
• Coordinates with other transport policies and with other associated national policies, such as climate change, and energy policies.

National Representation

After 26 years in existence as an LGA SIG, SASIG continues to be valued by DfT, DBT DEFRA, MHCL and other Government Departments - as well as key regulators and agencies (the CAA, Environment Agency, Border Force, UKRI etc) as a sounding board through which to understand local authority views on generic policy and other issues related to the aviation sector in the UK. SASIG also enjoy national recognition and support within the industry itself because of its overtly balanced approach and the high-level lens toward policy that we use which avoids of lobbying in relation to local disputes. Its resultant engagement in nationally important policy forums, programme of guest speakers and access to key decision-makers and policy influencers, allows it to engage with stakeholders on all aspects of aviation policy debates.

Engagement with Whitehall Departments, CAA, ACOG, CAST, ANEG and Aviation Minister

• SASIG continues to be recognised as an important ‘strategic stakeholder’ by DfT with its views actively sought on issues relevant to local authority interest in airports. SASIG had several of meetings with Departmental officials in the period covered by this report to discuss issues such as long-term passenger demand, airport capacity, environmental performance, new technology, airspace, economic benefits, planning and the secors’s post-pandemic recovery.
• SASIG Chairman continues to represent local authorities on the board of the DfT’s Airspace Modernisation Stakeholder Engagement Group. (This replaced the Airspace Strategy Board).
• SASIG Policy Director attended meetings of the Airspace Change Organisation Group (ACOG) and CAA to re delivery of key elements of the UK’s Airspace Modernisation Strategy and Masterplan and our Chairman became a sounding board for the ACOG Chairman.
• SASIG is a long-standing member and regular attendee of the DfT’s Airspace & Noise Engagement Group (ANEG). Three meetings were held in this period.
• SASIG’s profile in Advanced Air Mobility has continued to rise. Last year the Group established their own Drone Bureau with full support from LGA and held a successful online seminar regarding Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) on 5 December with almost 100 attendees from 60 authorities. The Policy Director also sits on the Future of Flight Government Liaison Group and has offered industry briefing and policy advice to the LGA’s representative on the FFIG.
• SASIG regularly attends the CAA’s Combined Aerodrome Safeguarding Team (CAST) which was formed in January 2021 to co-ordinate future work and good practice. Meetings in this period were in July 2024 and January 2025.
• The CAA continues to seek SASIG’s views on other areas of its work programme. These include Noise Action Plans: meetings regarding this which SASIG attended, were held in April and October 2024 and February 2025. SASIG also sits on the CAA’s Environmental forum. SASIG attended a meeting in November 2024 and the next meeting will be held in June/July.
• SASIG meets regularly with relevant officials from different Whitehall departments to make representations and promote co-operation with Government officials. The Chair/Policy Director met with the then Aviation Minister in April 2024 and are due to meet the new Minister shortly.
• SASIG also hosted an online discussion forum in September 2024 on the reform of the NPPF.

Engagement with Other Stakeholders

• SASIG’s Secretariat continues to liaise with other prominent industry stakeholder groups including AOA, RABA, LEP Network, COSLA, BEIS, Key Cities, Sustainable Aviation, Aviation Environment Federation, National Planning Inspectorate and HSPG – the latter inviting SASIG to an event they were holding in October 2024. SASIG has also discussed future collaborative approaches with Connected Places Catapult, Oxford University and also University of Surrey. Another important industry stakeholder with whom SASIG has developed strong links is Innovate UK and their Future Flight Programme. SASIG was invited to attend events in June and October 2024.
• SASIG has also been working alongside Regional & Business Airports Group (RABA) and the Independent Transport Commission (ITC) on a study looking at future policy challenges likely to be associated with emergent aviation technologies over the next 30 years.

Conferences and Public Fora

As a result of changed work patterns the pandemic, meetings (including our own members’ meetings) are often – though not always - on a virtual basis. SASIG has, this past year, received invites to events organised by, amongst others, colleagues at DfT, CAA, HSPG, Future of Flight and Innovate UK.

SASIG Bulletin

This is a core service emailed monthly by the SASIG Secretariat to members. It contains: editorial; an events diary; ‘Monthly Highlights’ section; Parliamentary Q & As on aviation matters; news articles from the month covering Parliamentary News, Government News, Regional News, National and Other Industry News and European News and updates to the SASIG website (publications/ industry documents, etc). It provides a valuable resource, allowing Local Authorities to remain well-informed and take an active role in the aviation debate.

Appendices:

• SASIG Mission Statement
• SASIG Terms of Reference
• Annual Membership Subscriptions
• SASIG Meetings Held

SASIG Mission Statement

SASIG proactively contributes to ensure that UK aviation policy is implemented in a manner that reconciles economic, social and environmental issues. Advancing sustainable aviation policy on behalf of local communities.

SASIG Terms of Reference

1.The Strategic Aviation Special Interest Group (SASIG) shall provide the forum within the Local Government Association (LGA) for all local authorities to discuss strategic aviation policies and major aviation issues and advancing sustainable aviation policy on behalf of local communities.

2.SASIG will contribute to the work of the LGA in responding to Government and the European Commission on all aviation issues that have a strategic planning, transportation, land use, economic or environmental health dimension. SASIG, where appropriate, will work through and in conjunction with the LGA. SASIG will make representations direct to Government and elsewhere arising directly from the SIG’s special interest. SASIG shall not act in a way that conflicts with or undermines LGA policy as a whole or damages the interests of member authorities.

3.SASIG will develop its role and pursue its objectives in accordance with an annual work programme, which will be kept under review so as to ensure consistency with LGA policy and meet with the aspirations of a wider membership.

4.SASIG will operate under the following constitution:

(i)Each authority in membership is entitled to designate one Member and/or one officer to attend each meeting of the Strategic Aviation Special Interest Group.

(ii)Whilst the Strategic Aviation Special Interest Group will seek to work by amicable agreement amongst the authorities, the formal position is that only one person from each member authority is entitled to vote.

(iii)There is no objection to additional Members and officers attending meetings to observe and speak with the permission of the Chairman.

(iv)A Chair’s Advisory Group and a Technical Officers Group, with representatives drawn from around airport locations on the Strategic Aviation Special Interest Group, will be maintained to assist in taking initiatives forward but with no specific executive powers unless so authorised or at times when urgency dictates that responses must be made between meetings.

(v)A Chair and up to three Vice Chairs will be elected annually to ensure a broad geographical spread of interest.

(vi)The role of Honorary President and Vice Presidents may be filled by an appropriate person(s).

(vii)The Strategic Aviation Special Interest Group shall submit an annual report to the LGA and shall table other reports for LGA meetings as and when necessary.

(viii)The Strategic Aviation Special Interest Group shall set an annual subscription rate for membership based on an assessment of its likely annual expenditure on staff, consultants, printing/publicity and other costs. These costs will be apportioned between member authorities on a formula to be agreed.

(ix)Authorities joining SASIG in any quarter of the financial year shall pay the relevant proportion of the annual subscription.

(x)Authorities shall be advised of the forthcoming subscriptions each autumn for their approval. The absence of a response to the contrary indicates approval.

(xi)Authorities resigning from SASIG shall give notice in writing prior to the end of the financial year.

Annual Membership Subscriptions

SASIG keeps its working methods and subscriptions under continuous review with the aim of keeping the subscription for its members at the lowest practical level. One effect is the current subscriptions remain unchanged since 2015/16. From April 2023 the Group’s finances began to be managed under new financial protocols agreed with the membership, which placed governance relating to the approval, monitoring, direction and accounting for the collection and expenditure of SASIGs budget with the Chairman and the Chairman’s Advisory Group (CAG).

SASIG Membership Meetings

Dates held – 27 June and 30 October 2024 and 29 January 2025 (all virtual)

SASIG held 3 meetings across this period (all virtual) for the full membership including councillors and officers. Members have been regularly updated on SASIG’s work on its own LA Impact Study originating as a result of the pandemic plus discussing the modernisation of UK airspace, noise action plans, environmental concerns relation to aviation and the increasing importance of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) i.e. drones, etc. Agendas at these meetings also placed a focus on SASIG’s interest in the various consultations related to these issues. Other items covered at the member meetings included discussions on the Government’s plans for English devolution and its reform of the NPPF and how these may concern aviation. The Groups’ ongoing work to raise SASIG’s profile and membership was also another regular topic.

Guest speaker at the June 2024 meeting was scheduled to be Professor David Warnock-Smith who is Head of Research and Enterprise in the School of Aviation and Security at Buckinghamshire New University. Unfortunately, David had to postpone last minute and subsequently spoke at the October 2024 meeting instead giving a presentation based on the surface access work he is doing at the University, but also with Heathrow and Luton Airports. Guest speaker at the January 2025 meeting was Christian Foster who is Programme Director at Doncaster MBC. Christian gave an update on the Doncaster Sheffield Airport re-opening programme.

SASIG Members’ Issue Specific Workshops

SASIG regularly considers whether to hold issue specific workshops reflecting key areas of policy likely to be of interest to members and SASIG actively encourages representatives and colleagues from within the industry such as DfT, CAA, AOA, AEF, FoF, DEFRA and HSPG along with non-member authorities to participate within these. With meetings continuing to be held virtually, these workshops usually now form part of the main meeting with presentations to members by guest speakers. However, in December 2024, SASIG with the support of the LGA, did hold a separate online webinar looking at various aspects of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM). Almost 100 representatives from local authorities and other interested parties throughout the UK attended, listening to a number of speakers from this developing area of aviation technology. Feedback from this seminar was positive.

SASIG Chairman’s Advisory Group (CAG)

Dates held – 10 June and 8 October 2024 and 8 January 2025

The SASIG Chairman’s Advisory Group (CAG) meets approximately 3-4 weeks prior to formal SASIG meetings, with additional meetings called to discuss specific topics as required. CAG has supported the Group with consideration of overarching issues, and review/comment on agenda papers for full SASIG meetings, including formal responses to consultations.