Deborah McGurran Editor, Politics Show East

Rural communities are being urged by former Beirut hostage, Terry Waite, to stand firm against plans for the expansion of Stansted Airport.

Mr Waite, the former envoy to the Archbishop of Canterbury who was held hostage for nearly five years, said proposals to expand the airport were "crude commercial enterprise".

He is urging residents to protect green fields and Essex local heritage from the expansion plans.

Protesters have friends in high places

"Yet another airport expansion scheme in the south of England reflects inadequate planning and a total disregard for the quality of life of the people who live in this part of the world," Terry Waite said.

"If the scheme goes ahead, yet another piece of our heritage will have gone forever, all in the name of progress.

"Tomorrow will be too late."

To promote opposition to the airport's expansion, Mr Waite will plant an oak tree on Sunday, 27 June, on the proposed site of the second runway, to inaugurate the first "Stop Stansted Expansion Wood".

Government support

But the Government's Air Transport White Paper, published in December 2003, backed plans for a second runway at Stansted, to be built by 2011.

However, the proposed Bill only sets out a policy framework against which the relevant public bodies, airport operators and airlines can plan ahead.

It will guide decisions on future planning applications.

It is up to airport operators to bring proposals for airport expansion forward and these will be subject to planning processes.

The Labour Government has promised that over the next 12 months, the airport operator at Stansted will develop the detailed design for a new runway by 2006.

Anti-runway campaign

"Stop Stansted Expansion" campaigners fighting the expansion of the Airport say they have been given permission for a full judicial review, but no date has been set.

Anti-runway campaign is taking off

The campaign group believes if it is successful, the challenge would force the government to reconsider its proposals and increase the size of other airports.

The campaigners argue the government's White Paper on aviation ignored its own rule that expansion of airports should only happen if it is commercially justifiable.

They claim that Stansted's owner, British Airports Authority, believes a new runway can only be added at the airport if it is paid for with money from other airports such as Heathrow.

But the Civil Aviation Authority has ruled out this "cross-subsidisation".

The Government insist that air travel is "crucial" to the economy and supports 800,000 jobs.

A new runway at Stansted built by 2012, would allow the Essex airport to handle more than 80m passengers a year - a larger number than Heathrow's present annual turnover.

But the alignment of the proposed runway has caused suspicion among locals, who claim it is in the furthest possible position from the existing landing strip, leaving space for a third runway.

Politics Show

The Government commissioned a study into the London, Stansted, Cambridge and Peterborough growth area.

This suggested that in addition to the 166,500 homes already sanctioned to be built by 2021, there was further potential for up to half a million new homes there by 2030.

The government are building on development plans

The east is also set to see large scale building - 370,000 homes by 2021in the Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire, Hertfordshire and Milton Keynes grown area and around 100,000 extra homes in this part of the Thames Gateway area by then too.

The Government wants to create sustainable communities not simply urban sprawl.

Comunities where people have transport links, schools hospitals and community facilities.

And it hopes that affordable homes will be built to accommodate key workers like teachers, nurses and fire officers.

In July 2004 the Institute of Public Policy Research is to launch an 18 month long "blue sky" study into how the region will cope with housing growth.

Councils in the East region will help them look 30 years into the future which is just what we will be doing this week.

So looking into crystal ball, what will the face of the region be if Government plans for building 500,000 homes in this region go ahead? Will there be any homes for our key workers if they do not?

That is the Politics Show Sunday 11 July at Noon.

Politics Show

Join presenter Etholle George for Politics Show on Sundays on BBC1, at Noon

Disclaimer: The BBC may edit your comments and cannot guarantee that all emails will be published.