Representation by Lawrence Potter
- Date submitted
- 16 September 2018
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
Most UK cargo flights are night flights. Apparently the runway and 19 stands at Manston are capable of handling 83,000 Air traffic movements annually. Manston would have no cap on flight numbers which would permit extensive night flying. Figures of 17,100 air traffic movements annually are likely. This excludes any passenger flights and non freight ATM's. The allowable noise levels would be greater than those permitted at Heathrow or Gatwick. This would result in noise and air pollution for those living under or near the flight paths and also present physical an mental health problems. The World Health Organisation describes aircraft noise at a threshold of 50 decibels as "moderate community annoyance" and "severe annoyance" at 55 decibels. The estimated noise from an aircraft flying over Herne Bay ay 2,400 feet is 66 to 80 decibels. There would also be a negative health impact from particulate and NO2 pollution as well as greenhouse gas emissions. Thanet is only served by three main roads. There is no alternative to expansion of the road system as Thanet is surrounded on three sides by the sea. Road congestion in the area would increase dramatically. There could be 400 to 500 HGV movements a day. As well as this, fifty to sixty road fuel tankers a day would be required to service flights as there is no dedicated pipeline or fuelling system for the airport. To move aviation fuelling to the Jentex site adjacent to the airport would pose a massive safety issue as the site lies within a residential area. This poses environmental and health issues as well as the possibility of major incidents or accidents. The presence of 24-hour aircraft noise and increased heavy road traffic would have an adverse effect on tourism, the local economy and place a blight on property values in the area. There is also a concern that the existing and historic 30:70 split between the east and west ends of the runway will be reversed by the Riveroak Strategic Partnership allowing 70% and not 30% of flights to pass over Herne Bay. This will have implications for Herne Bay, Beltinge and the villages between Herne Bay and the airport such as St Nicolas and Minster. The alleged large number of jobs created by the new cargo hub will include jobs created worldwide from companies providing services for the cargo hub and not necessarily from local employment. There will also be threats to wildlife sites, loss of habitat for breeding birds and also possible pollution caused by discharge of pollutants including oil, fuel and de-icer into Pegwell bay.