Page 282 - Alderney Regional Environmental Assessment of Renewable Energy: Environmental Report

Alderney Regional Environmental Assessment of Renewable Energy:
Environmental Report
7.9 Traffic and Transport
7.9.1 Baseline Description
There are no regular public services on Alderney and transport is primarily by taxi, car,
motorcycle or bike. There are reportedly no traffic lights, no roundabouts and no traffic jams in
Alderney (VisitAlderney Website).
There is also a railway on the island, which runs as a tourist attraction along a coastal route
from the harbour up to the north east coast and operates on bank holidays and weekends
during the summer season (i.e. Easter to end September).
Alderney Airport is the only airport on the island and is located south west of St Anne. Built in
1935, Alderney Airport was the first airport in the Channel Islands. Its facilities include a
hangar, the Airport Fire Station and low cost, duty-free and tax-free Avgas refuelling. In 2011
the airport handled 64,165 passengers and 6,652 total air transport movements (comprising
6,628 passenger and 24 cargo aircraft), a decrease compared to previous years (Civil Aviation
Authority, 2012). Passengers travelled by scheduled flights from Southampton, Guernsey,
Jersey (via Guernsey) or private aircraft from the UK and Continent (Alderney Government
website).
Alderney is unique amongst Channel Islands airports, in having three operational runways. The
main runway, 08/26 is 880 m long and is mainly asphalt. The two secondary runways are both
grass: 14/32 is 732 m long and 03/21 has a length of 497m. The main runway is equipped with
low intensity lighting and portable lighting being available on runway 14/32. These runways are
only opened seasonally/temporarily subject to weather conditions and required usage (i.e.
number of flights).
Braye Harbour (also known as Alderney Harbour) is the main harbour on the island and is
located on the north side of the Island of Alderney. It accommodates a passenger ferry from
France and Guernsey and cargo vessels. It is also used by a small local fishing fleet and
recreational boats (ARE, 2009). Further detailed baseline information is provided in the
Commercial and Recreational Shipping and Navigation section (Section 7.3).
7.9.1.1 Future baseline
Alderney's population has declined steadily in recent years, according to data from Guernsey's
Social Security Department (BBC News website). Figures from March 2011 showed 2,111
people lived in the island, a drop of nearly 200 compared with March 2007. This trend has
continued with the latest Alderney Census indicating that the population was 1,903 at the end
of April 2013. Since the last population census was conducted in 2001, the population has
declined by 17% (Island Analysis, 2013). There are no known proposals to modify the existing
road transport infrastructure on Alderney and, therefore, the overall trend in road traffic is
anticipated to stay at least the same or decline slightly from present levels in the short to
medium term.
Alderney Airport has been running at a loss for a number of years and representatives from
Alderney Airport are planning to seek more autonomy over the running of the facility (BBC
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