Representation by Helen Howe
- Date submitted
- 22 September 2018
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
NOISE: The Incoming Flight path over Herne Bay will affect at least three primary schools and at least seven nursing homes, plus the hospital. Past experience showed it was impossible to hold a conversation during the fly over, as planes are starting their descent procedures.
INCREASED TRAFFIC: the major route between Manston and the M25 is just two lanes wide for the first 34 miles. The route struggles to cope with increased traffic during holiday periods, with long tailbacks building up. It is also the only route for traffic between Herne Bay and the major hospital in Margate, without a long detour. It would not be able to sustain heavy goods traffic without major improvement and widening work. EMERGENCY PLANNING: The QEQM hospital in Margate appears to struggle at the best of times (we experienced 20+ hours on a trolley) Major trauma cases seem to be transferred straight to London hospitals – would they cope with a major incident? Major routes quickly become blocked, how would casualties be evacuated? LOSS OF TOURISM: In the last few years both Margate and Herne Bay have seen regeneration in the tourism industry. The noise from aircraft and the extra road traffic, can only reverse this trend.
LACK OF INFORMATION: During the two (poorly publicised) public consultations held by RSP in Herne Bay, there seemed a concerted effort to hide information. The large map showing supposed flight paths did not extend as far as Herne Bay. A true map was only produced after some questioning. Worries about noise levels were dismissed out of hand as ‘new planes are far less noisy’ and ‘there would be no more noise than we monitored in Memorial Park’ – the main town park area. Despite living under the flight path – which we know from previous flights into Manston – we received no leaflets notifying us of the proposals or consultations. Many of the older population of Herne Bay do not have access to the internet, which has seemed the only method of finding accurate information. The current application documents are not available in Herne Bay Library.
LACK OF SUPPORT: The Current MP [Redacted] , has repeatedly told the public, in person, and via the Media, that there will be no night flights other than Emergency or Humanitarian. This seems contrary to the terms requested by RSP
FUNDING: RSP seem to be reluctant to confirm who will financially back this scheme, other than they are registered in Belize. Given the Government has announced it wishes to ‘crack down’ on foreign investors, has due diligence been carried out on RSP by your organisation, and when will those findings be made public?