Manchester Airport pays £1milllion to village for slashing value of homes

PA

An entire village has won a compensation claim of £1million from Manchester Airport after the noise and fumes from its second runway caused their house prices to lose value, according to the Daily Mail.

Nearly 600 homeowners will receive £1,500 each 11 years after the runway opened in 2001.

The long-running legal battle has seen the airport pay put more that £9million in compensation.

In addition to paying 583 households in Knutsford and Mobberley, the airport will also pay the council tax precept, which is levied to fund Knutsford town council and Mobberley parish council, for a year worth a total of £117,702.

This will benefit every household in the area and six local state schools will receive a £1,300 payment.

Manchester Airport chiefs said they would not hand out any more money because the legal time-limit for claims had passed.

Chancellor George Osborne said the compensation was a 'good outcome' for the property owners. Osborne, whose Tatton constituency covers the area, said: 'Years of hard campaigning have finally paid off. I want to thank local people for their support and Jeff Gazzard for all his work - he has been a star. At last we have a fair deal for local communities.'

Jeff Gazzard, a Knutsford resident who led the campaign, welcomed the compensation settlement and said: 'It's an acceptable deal.'

'We were totally reliant on the airport's good will because legal timeframes for compensation had passed so this was a fair solution.

'I don't think it is tokenistic but some people may be a little disappointed at the amount - they probably wanted a little more. We've taken extreme care to get this right and this now draws a line under the second runway issue.'

A Manchester Airport spokesman said: 'The legal process for Runway 2 claims formally concluded in 2010. However, since then, George Osborne MP and Jeff Gazzard have presented us with a convincing case which showed inequity in the legal process.

'We have now agreed with them a final package of benefits as a goodwill payment.

'We hope that this demonstrates our commitment to work with our local communities as a responsible business and finally draws a line under this process.'

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