Representation by Rita Burns
- Date submitted
- 10 September 2018
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I live very near the Airport (Nethercourt Estate) and I am absolutely shocked by some of the things I have read within the DCO documentation. 1.No Public Safety Zones, they expect to carry on with previous arrangements. This is totally unacceptable as previous operations were nothing like that which is planned, this is a total disregard of all the residents in the area. Various documents easily found on the internet suggest that even airports that do not need PSZ’s use best practice and have safety zones. This is a vastly populated area and an area that has seen a vast rise in the visitor numbers since the airport closed. Although the quoted numbers fall below those requiring a PSV these planes with be approx. 100m above my property as I live approx. 1.5km from the Airport. The documents also show that the Company are not putting any caps on the numbers, once again this proves the need for a PSZ. 2.Noise disturbance - can have significant adverse effects on people living close to an airport, including: interference with communication, sleep disturbance, annoyance responses, learning acquisition, performance effects and cardiovascular and psycho-physiological effects. From past experience I can honestly say the planes interrupted any conversations, made it impossible to hear the radio/television, stopped any telephone conversations and in Ramsgate Town when they flew over it was unbearable. This is certainly not what I envisaged in my retirement – since the planes stopped I have been able to enjoy my garden and various surrounding areas such as protected nature reserves, walks along our wonderful coastline which I find incredibly relaxing - not quite so relaxing with cargo planes going over all the time. According to the European Community legislation as Directive EC/2002/30. Commonly applied noise management measures include limiting night operations, monitoring individual noise levels – the noise monitors will it seems be a very long way from my property so will not monitor true noise levels as far as I am concerned. 3.The documents state no scheduled night flights but does not mention anything about chartered flights, surely cargo is normally carried on charter planes not scheduled. Cargo is mostly flown at night to reach areas first thing in the morning via ground transport, our roads will not cope with the amount of lorries required to transport this. The roads will have to cope with fuel bowsers, HGV’s and for the amount of flights quoted we are talking vast amounts. 4.At a meeting I attended an Executive head teacher stated: “It breaks my heart to think of our school children if their sleep gets disturbed. I guarantee that will affect their education. And if it affects their education it will affect their life choices.” This really concerns me as I like many have children and grandchildren that will have to live with these consequences.