Representation by Louis Mark Negin
- Date submitted
- 11 September 2018
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
A resident of Ramsgate since 1988 the airport at Manston has always been a factor of local life: it has now reached its sell-by date and permission should be given for use as a brownfield site and, if approved, to be built on.
Passengers: After attempts by several companies, including KLM, all of which companies’ services I used, it became obvious that there was not enough traffic to pay for any regular passenger service: the catchment area simply denies any hope of attracting the numbers needed to make the airport viable.
Freight: The idea of using it for freight comes up against the same problem: However good the costly improvements to rail and road connections this is never going to be a worthwhile proposition due to its poor accessibility to the rest of the United Kingdom.
Historical value: The catchment area, when including the French and Belgian coast, made it viable during WWII: nostalgia for a lost past is not sufficient to keep its status as an airport. The two Museums: The RAF Museum and the Spitfire and Hurricane Museum were previously safeguarded: if strongly safeguarded these well-loved museums should satisfy the need for preserving the historical memory. Maintaining the whole site for heritage reasons is not feasible nor desirable..
Pullution: The quality of aircraft being proposed does not guarantee noise and air pollution levels acceptable to most national standard requirements. The consequent destruction of the local tourist economy with low-flying heavy aircraft over the major tourist and conservation areas will offset any financial or jobs advantage as proposed in this application.
Financing: There appears to be a lack of clarification on this issue coming from a source outside the jurisdiction of any UK authority.
Q.E.D.