Representation by Margarita Moscoso
- Date submitted
- 10 September 2018
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
My objection to the proposed DCO for Manston Airport submitted by RiverOak Strategic Partnership Background I have lived in Ramsgate since March 2012. On arrival I was aware that there was a functioning airport here, but found there were virtually no planes arriving or leaving at that time. The airport was sold to stop mounting losses. There had been some passenger flights, but few passengers; a certain amount of cargo was transported but not sufficient to make it economically viable. Towards the end of its days Manston was used to train pilots on Sundays. The same pilot spent some hours practicing landings and take offs. It had never occurred to me just how low the planes came until one day I could see the pilot as he flew over my house on the East Cliff. These training flights stopped me entertaining or sitting in the garden and even indoors talk had to be halted whilst planes flew over. Not only did we suffer intolerable noise, but also powerful vibrations going through our properties. The owners sought a different, economically viable use for the land. So what has changed now to attract an American property developer, initially, and then someone purporting to be unrelated to RiverOak and yet calling themselves RiverOak Strategic Partnership and wanting to re-introduce cargo flights? Environmental and Academic Impact of flights Environmental considerations for both noise and pollution should, on their own, lead to the proposals for a cargo hub at Manston being rejected. Such a proposal, if successful, would impact directly on so many people, surely it cannot/should not be considered in the 21st Century? How many other airports are there where planes come in to land directly over a town and where the runway is so close to the centre of the town? Schools under the flight path would suffer in the delivery of education with constant noise interruptions during teaching and study times, there are studies to show the detrimental impact this has on academic outcomes. Environmental Impact of the movement of cargo by road How many lorry journeys have been estimated to collect cargo and at what sort of times would they be travelling and also creating noise and impacting on air quality? Has this been factored in? Regeneration of Ramsgate Ramsgate has struggled to regenerate itself through the personal input and commitment of its residents. We have the only Royal Harbour in the country and a multitude of listed buildings spanning from early Georgian, through to Victorian and Edwardian. I am not sure many of these buildings, mine included, would be able to withstand the continuous resultant vibration from the proposed cargo planes if the application were successful. Ramsgate is rightly regaining its attraction as a tourist area and a cargo hub with the resultant noise and pollution would kill this. Night Flights: Impact on Health and Educational Achievement Night flights have been proven to disrupt people’s sleep and directly affect their health. How on earth would our local NHS cope with the additional demand for services and in particular mental health care that would result from interrupted sleep on a regular basis. Likewise for childrens’ education where there has been a clear correlation between airplane noise over schools and poor academic achievement.