Representation by Residents of Ellington Road
- Date submitted
- 7 October 2018
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
7 October, 2018
Dear Sir or Madam:
We are writing in response to the Manston Development Consent Order (DCO) submitted by RiverOak Strategic Partners (RSP) and would like to draw your attention to the following:
Noise and Night Flights RSP proposes a capacity of 83,000 freight Air Traffic Movements (ATMs) per annum. But its highest noise assessments are based on a figure of only 17,100 ATMs p.a. This figure does not appear to be a worst-case scenario, since there is no proposed limit on the number of ATMs, while passenger and other non-freight movements are not included. • Similarly, there is no apparent limit set for the number of night flights but an overall noise quota of 3028 QC points per annum. Such a quota would permit well over three times the number of night flights proposed in the Environmental Assessment submitted by RSP, which was based on 8 flights per night. • Our experience living under the flight path has shown us that night flights passing overhead shake the fabric of the building and render one fully awake. Even daytime flights mean that conversations both inside and outside the house have to be curtailed until the planes have passed. Likewise, within local schools that are under the flight path teachers and students have to stop speaking with resulting disruption to the lessons.
Impact on the Health of Local People Negative effects on the health of the local community resulting from reduced air quality need to be balanced against the supposed economic benefits of the RSP proposal. • NO2 pollution is currently linked to the early deaths of 23,500 people in the UK every year. Currently, and since 2010, 90% of urban areas in Great Britain are experiencing illegal levels of NO2 pollution. This chemical has been linked to lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, and asthma by the WHO. Children are especially vulnerable, for, if developing lungs are affected, the damage may even reduce life expectancy. • Sixty per cent of all NO2 emissions are estimated to stem from road transport. As a result, it is evident that the proposed development will contribute to air pollution through the increase in airport related traffic and that this will not be ‘moderate’ or even ‘negligible’. Indeed, the airport proposal would undermine urgent plans to deal with current problems related to air quality in the UK. From a personal point of view, there are those in our family who suffer from both asthma and bronchitis. The population of Thanet is older than the national average, and would therefore be more affected by an increase in air pollution.
There are many other significant areas of concern, which include, among others: the impact on the Heritage Assets of Ramsgate and the viability of the local tourist industry, the potential risk of a major accident involving low-flying aircraft over residential areas and schools, the inadequate evidence put forward by RSP of a credible business case, the unsuitability of the location of Manston at the end of a peninsula, and the considerable spare freight capacity at Stansted, East Midlands, and other operational UK airports.
Thank you for your kind consideration of our concerns.
Yours sincerely,
Residents of Ellington Road Ramsgate