Stansted Business Park - access restricted confirmed

[jc]

Disappointing news. Quoting from a mail from the local Police at STN to Plane Watch members today/30 January:

"The second issue relates to access to the North side business park at Stansted Airport. As you will know, London Stansted Airport and the Stansted Business Park are becoming increasingly busy. 

As part of ongoing measures to ensure the security of the airport, the Risk Advisory Group at Stansted Airport has reviewed public access to the Stansted Business Park and has made the decision to allow access to the Park for professional reasons only, removing public access for leisure pursuits. 

As a result, the viewing of aircraft from within Stansted Business Park will no longer be possible. Aviation enthusiasts will be prohibited from viewing and photography of aircraft from within the business park and may be subject of a fine under the airport bye-laws if they are caught contravening the bye-laws.

The presence of enthusiasts/spotters at Stansted is still welcome and it is acknowledged that those engaged in photography, viewing and recording aircraft details provide an informal level of security. Such people are therefore encouraged to pursue their hobby along the perimeter fence adjacent to the Belmar Road area of the airport which provides a very good view of the runway.

Whilst it is acknowledged that this may disappoint some spotters, we appreciate your understanding and support in our efforts to keep Stansted Airport a safe place. Please be aware if members of Plane Watch are repeatedly found in this area their membership will be revoked. 

This information will be further disseminated because we are aware that a high number of aviation enthusiasts who attend this area are not members of Plane Watch and will therefore need to be aware of how these changes will affect them."

John

[Deleted]

I agree- It is very disappointing- despite numerous requests re spotting in this area- seems that a small amount of spotters have not taken any notice of the requests hence the majority have to suffer. 

AM

[andypspotter]

Whilst it's a shame that the few have spoilt it for the majority, I really believe that such a blanket prohibition will ultimately be counter-productive.

Will it engender cooperation when the authorities want 'saddo anoraks' like us to be their eyes and ears to report suspicious activity, drones and the like?

If there are particularly sensitive areas where people want access to be restricted, surely it's not beyond the ingenuity of humans to install measures to achieve this, rather than restricting access to the entire area.

For example, I've heard about these new-fangled things called fences and gates that might just do the trick 😉

In my experience, physical barriers are always more effective than enforcement. I imagine cash-strapped police forces may also have slightly more important matters to attend to, rather than enforcing tresspass laws over areas for which unimpeded access has been allowed (or at very least tolerated) for way more than 20 years.

Meanwhile, at places like Luton and Farnborough, the airfield management and enthusists just crack on, and live in relative harmony, scratching each others' backs.