Campaigners against the expansion of Birmingham Airport have given a cautious response to the draft master plan.
James Botham, secretary of BANG (Birmingham Airport Anti Noise group), said the airport was expecting its neighbouring residents to be happy with "small mercies".
"The airport company has admitted that day and night noise, air pollution, and road traffic will all increase as a result of BIA's expansion.
"When challenged about the impacts of its planned three-fold growth, the airport has consistently evaded the issue, preferring simply to remind us of how much more damaging the Government's original, now long-defunct, wide-spaced second runway option would have been.
"But that's just not good enough. The fact that the situation could be a whole lot worse - which we don't dispute - doesn't mean it couldn't be a whole lot better."
Mr Botham (above) welcomed the emphasis BIA had placed on environmental sustainability in its plans, but added: "We remain unconvinced that growth on the scale envisaged by the master plan can be achieved without the local community suffering a significant deterioration in its local environment and quality of life."
BIA's Property Value Protection Scheme, which attracted criticism from politicians and residents alike, has now been amended.
The changes include confirming a property will be included if the noise contour goes through any part of the building or garden. If it goes through one of a pair of semidetached properties then both properties are included.
The boundary has also been moved out to follow a clear physical feature - such as the centreline of a road or an alleyway.
Mr Botham welcomed the fact BIA had taken on board some of the criticism.
"In drawing up these new compensation schemes, the airport company has at least managed to iron out the more egregious howlers," he said.
"However, by reiterating in the proposals that 'there will always be some properties that fall outside the boundary when near neighbours are within it', BIA has admitted to an intrinsic flaw in its compensation proposals."
The changes introduced the flexibility needed to prevent residential roads, alleys and individual properties being bisected by arbitrary lines drawn on a map and finding themselves "half-in-half-out" of the scheme, he added.
Mr Botham called for local planners to be wary of adopting the final master plan, due in March 2006, without close scrutiny.
BANG and SOAR (Solihull Opposing Additional Runways) have maintained their objection to expansion at BIA ever since the prospect of a second runway was first mooted in 2002.
