Representation by Jane Hetherington
- Date submitted
- 7 October 2018
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
A pitiful restriction of 500 words seems completely insufficient to describe the devastating impact RSP’s application to obtain a DCO if granted would have on the towns of Ramsgate and Herne Bay plus the surrounding environs. These are towns with historic and coastal importance and in the case of Ramsgate a Royal Harbour, significant listed Georgian property, Pugin, connections to Van Gogh and numerous additional tourist and coastal attractions.
Night Flights and Day Noise
I have attended a number of consultations by RSP and have heard the major characters involved in RSP ([Redacted]) state aggressively that there were no plans for night flights incorporated in their schemes. This has been reiterated by airport supporting groups and the 2 local MP’s [Redacted] and [Redacted] who have pontificated at length on the subject. This is all untrue as RSP’s DCO documentation now states “ Riveroak’s business case is based on the potential need for night flights……” and “ a cargo airport therefore needs more flexibility to allow the use of planes classified at QC4 at night”….
QC4 are considered too noisy for the night quota at Heathrow so RSP are clearly aiming at the bottom end of the market by attempting to undercut other operatives. They also appear having read their noise mitigation document to be undercutting other airports in their penalties for carrier/freight that arrives late at night and into a restricted period. The proposed restrictions appear to be less restrictive than when the airport was previously operational which hardly bodes well for the sleep of residents. In the past EU jet planes frequently arrived late and I then lived in Spencer Square [Redacted] and the light and noise that disturbed my sleep and fellow residents then will be as nothing to what RSP plan. It would also I note appear that the cumulative impact of light pollution from night operations has not been assessed.
RSP suggest that Manston is capable of handling 83,000 ATM’s annually yet their noise assessment is based on a figure of 17,000 ATM’s? RSP are assessing “significant effects of aircraft noise at night” through an “18 times a night “ awakening metric. My concern is this will have significant effects of the physical and mental health of the populations of Herne Bay, Ramsgate and the villages. Numerous research links physical health problems such as cancer, asthma, stroke and heart disease, diabetes, obesity and dementia to air pollution in addition to the obvious health related issues of lung disease and asthma. With 29,000 deaths in the UK being attributable to pollution from particulate matter . NO2 has an effect on mortality equivalent to 23,500 deaths annually in the UK. Thanet already has double the rate of life limiting long term illness when compared to the broad population of South East England in some parts of Thanet life expectancy is 18 years lower than the best rate in the country. Thanet in addition has a higher than average rate for all mental health conditions and the highest rate of serious mental illness in Kent, noise and light pollution will impact on mental health.
I have mainly written about the impact of night noise and flights but the impact will occur during the day too effecting education, health, business, leisure in fact every aspect of people’s lives here. RSP have documented in their own proposal that “ significant adverse effects have been identified at the communities of Ramsgate, Pegwell Bay and Manston as a result of the proposed development. The effect would be characterised as a perceived change in the quality of life”, as someone who works in the mental health/ social care field this seriously concerns me.