Manchester Airport has applied for planning permission to development land within its Operational Area which lies to the south west of Wilmslow Old Road and and to the west of the Aviation Viewing Park.
The scheme includes the development of a combined bussing and motor transport service centre consisting of a motor transport building, a bus washing building and a public long stay car park providing 2,700 spaces.
Manchester Airports Group's proposal also includes amendments to the layout of Wilmslow Old Road and the demolition of four 2 bedroom residential properties, known as Vicarage Cottages, which are owned by the airport.
If approved the new facilities would replace the airport's bussing operation, which was was temporarily relocated to the World Freight Terminal in May 2016, and the airport's existing motor transport facility which is located within Hangar 4 at the World Freight Terminal. According to the airport this building has structural issues and a review has concluded that the cost required to re-furbish and maintain the facility to a suitable standard in the long term would be un-economical.
Documents submitted to Manchester City Council state "There is an obvious synergy in locating the bussing operation and motor transport facility together given the same services and amenities that they both require. Co-locating them will create a more efficient use of land and will eliminate the movement of buses between two different sites."
According the MAG the provision of car parking capacity at the airport is at a lower rate than the growth in passenger numbers with around 72% of passengers currently still using the car, with either driving themselves and parking or being picked up and dropped off by others including by taxi.
The application states "These latter methods have a far greater traffic generation impact. After public transport access, the best means of reducing impacts of movements on the road network by private car is through the provision of on-site car parking. This can, if correctly priced, provide an attractive alternative to 'drop-off' and 'pick-up' activity, which generates twice the number of road trips than parking at the Airport.
"This activity is still the predominant means of accessing the Airport and if we are to maintain efforts to discourage drop-off and pick-up then sufficient on-site parking capacity needs to be available."
The plans can be viewed on Manchester City Council's planning portal by searching for planning reference 122638/FO/2019.
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I share your frustration and annoyance at the cynical, money-grabbing ways of MAG.
I regularly have to collect colleagues off short-haul flights into Manchester Airport.
Almost always they have only hand luggage and could easily and quickly jump into the back of the car so that we can be quickly away - minimum fuss, minimum delay.
Under the new "system" I have to go to the pick-up car park, find a space, shepherd my visitors into the car, go look for a pay station, make payment of minimum £4, return to car, exit the car park, put token in exit barrier and note presence of number plate recognition cameras - not for security, but to ensure compliance to parking regime.
Manchester Airport has lost the goodwill of it's passengers (customers) and I speak to more and more people who go out of their way to ensure that they wont spend a brass cent whilst passing through the place.