Representation by Sally Tedder
- Date submitted
- 7 October 2018
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I oppose the plan for a cargo hub at Manston.
I moved to Ramsgate in 1965 with my parents. My sisters and brother were born here. I went to Clarendon House – directly under the flight path to Manston and I have experience of all the previous levels of the airport operation.
The short time that the airport attempted to operate as a commercial venture was unbearable. At times the planes were so low when passing over Ramsgate High Street the body of the plane filled the sky, and the smell of aviation fuel pervaded the air. If that level of operation was not commercially viable, the only way for a new undertaking to succeed would to be even more disruptive.
The noise and the smell made the area unpleasant, only the most desperate smokers sat outside a café on a lovely summer’s day, and an area which relies very heavily on tourism suffered, businesses closed; and Ramsgate suffered. Such jobs as the airport afforded were low paid and not numerous, and did not compensate for the jobs that were lost as a result of the effect on the tourist industry, both directly – e.g. cafes, and indirectly e.g. suppliers.
In recent years (post airport) we have noticed an improvement, small businesses have started to open and flourish and it has been a pleasure to see steady upward progress. There are regular music festivals and events celebrating the heritage of the area, which encourage people to visit, and while they visit they patronise the shops, and cafes and hotels, and breathe life into the area. However with the levels of pollution and noise anticipated if the predicted use of the airport is achieved, these events will peter out and the area will wither once again become a place where people live only because they have to.
It is not only the daily life of adult residents that will be negatively affected. There are several schools under the flight path, some in very elderly buildings. The noise will force the lessons to pause. Then, once the plane has passed the teacher will need to regain the class’s attention quickly, in order to get some learning done before the next interruption. I used to be a teacher and I am well aware of how much of a challenge this will be. In some classes interruptions like this will destroy any chances that some pupils would have for learning. Loss of focus will be compounded by the effects of fatigue on both staff and pupils. Education is the best chance that these children have to improve their lot. I do not think we have the right to jeopardise their futures.
With noise pollution affecting all residents at work, at school and at home, with the additional air pollution from increased road traffic as well as air traffic, at a time when all countries are committed to reducing Carbon emissions, the plan for a cargo hub at Manston would not seem to be a good one