It's a place where, on paper, at least, an airport should probably never be built.
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But a sprawling parcel of bushland near Wilton, west of Wollongong, has firmed as the new home of Sydney’s second international airport. The reason is because opting for the superior site, Badgerys Creek, would be political suicide.
While Wilton has been mooted as a possible location for three decades, the release of a major report earlier this month showed it had leaped onto the Federal Government’s radar.
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Many of the things that make the site undesirable - particularly its distance from Sydney, are what make it an attractive option for politicians who want to build another airport with minimal backlash.
When 18 potential sites from Kiama to Gosford were put through an extensive culling process at the start of an $8million study, Wilton emerged as the second-most desirable location, largely due to its ability to annoy the smallest number of people.
Badgerys Creek was determined the best option thanks to its proximity to road, rail and the booming suburbs of western Sydney, but governments of all persuasions have ruled it out.
Compared with Badgerys Creek, the Wilton area has 13 times fewer residents living within 15km of a fully fledged, two-runway airport.
The number of people around Wilton exposed to more than 10 daily ‘‘noise events’’ above 70 decibels (enough to interrupt a conversation or watching television) would also be 26 times fewer than Badgerys Creek.
Infrastructure and Transport Minister Anthony Albanese told the Mercury the precise extent of noise was yet to be determined.
‘‘But this study shows the impact would be very minimal on the Illawarra and it could be possible to design an airport at Wilton in a way that would have very little [noise] impact on the Illawarra,’’ he said.
The trade-off for Wilton’s relative isolation is serious environmental challenges and a bigger bill for supporting road and rail infrastructure.
The cost of earthworks, testimony to the site’s uneven, bush-covered terrain, is also far larger than every other alternative.
The 3200-page study recommended detailed environmental impact studies should begin within the next 12 months.
Mr Albanese declined to say when the assessments would begin, citing Cabinet confidentiality.
‘‘[But] I certainly think there’s been too much delay over this issue already and, in my view, if anything, the time-frame suggested in the study needs to be brought forward,’’ he said. ‘‘This can’t afford to be delayed.’’
The report’s authors, which included senior state and federal bureaucrats, concluded that taking no action was not an option because an airport would be needed within 18 years.
If Sydney Airport can’t cope with forecast demand, by 2060 the national economy will have foregone $59.5billion in expenditure and $34billion in gross domestic product.
The authors also urged immediate action to acquire properties because urban sprawl had already ruled out some options and was threatening others.
‘‘If action is not taken quickly, the chance to secure the future of aviation for the Sydney region may be lost altogether,’’ the report said. The earliest an airport would be operational at Wilton would be 2021.
Mr Albanese said it could be a huge boost to the Illawarra economy. ‘‘One of the true strengths of the site is its proximity to the Illawarra in terms of jobs,’’ he said. ‘‘The best two things you can do for a region is to have a university or an airport because of the high-quality jobs that come.
‘‘It has a real multiplier in terms of the freight and logistics industry, information technology industry, manufacturing services and, of course, tourism.’’
Mr Albanese has written to NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell, who backs an expanded airport in Canberra, to try to thaw relations.
The report dismissed as unrealistic solutions the concept of an airport in Canberra or Newcastle linked to Sydney by a high-speed rail network.
It is likely to be at least next year before Illawarra residents know whether an airport at Wilton would lead to noisy passenger jets flying above their homes.
While preliminary designs and detailed studies will probably not be completed for another 12 months, any new airport in the Sydney basin would ideally require a runway alignment parallel or near parallel to Sydney Airport’s north/south-facing runways to avoid air space conflict.
A report to the government says such an alignment at Wilton could direct planes over the Illawarra’s central and southern areas, while a cross-runway arrangement could mean similar movement above the northern suburbs.
The report notes that some coastal hang-gliding activities ‘‘may need to be modified’’ and skydiving above Wollongong would be ‘‘significantly restricted and probably not compatible’’ with air traffic.
It also said night curfews may have to be introduced to protect ‘‘coastal townships’’.
Associate professor Steven Greaves of the University of Sydney’s Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies, said some noise impacts were unavoidable.
‘‘Any airport at Wilton would impact on homes [but] accurately determining just how many and where is something that still needs a lot of work,’’ he said.
Preliminary studies show at least 1950 people would be subjected to 10 or more ‘‘noise events’’ of above 70 decibels a day. More than 130,000 people live within 30km of the site.
Wollondilly Shire Mayor Col Mitchell claimed aircraft noise would affect ‘‘hundreds of thousands’’ in south-western Sydney and the Illawarra.
‘‘I hate to inflict pain on other areas, but Badgerys Creek is the right option,’’ he said. ‘‘But [Anthony] Albanese comes straight out and says ‘no, we’re not putting it there’ so we end up in the frame. Well, we are going to fight this. We don’t want it.’’
But he conceded opposition from councils may not carry much influence in Canberra.
‘‘That’s true,’’ he said, ‘‘but the entire community won’t want it and governments are swayed by people.’’
Cr Mitchell doubted the proposal would pass environmental assessment because the area was part of the catchment for Sydney’s drinking water supply.
According to Rivers SOS secretary Julie Sheppard, integrity of the water catchment must be preserved at all costs.
‘‘We’re already trying to deal with the impacts of longwall mining and coal seam gas drilling; we don’t need to deal with an airport as well,’’ she said.