Representation by Daphne Joynes
- Date submitted
- 24 September 2018
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I AM AGAINST the re-opening of Manston Airport as a "24/7 Cargo Hub".
I AM GREATLY CONCERNED about the extremely negative effect it would have on Ramsgate itself, as well as the surrounding area.
RAMSGATE HAS SUCCESSFULLY STRUGGLED HARD TO PULL ITSELF OUT OF A DEEP SLUMP, and is turning itself round as a highly desirable short-break and holiday destination. It is now a place that people want to move to and and raise raise their families. Many small and larger businesses have opened in and around Ramsgate in the last decade, bringing employment, training and improved prospects for a wide range of people from school-leavers to adults.The re-opening of the airport as a Cargo hub with 24/7 heavy cargo planes landing and taking off over the centre of Ramsgate will wipe away all those achievements. People will sell-up and leave the area, but property will be hard to sell and house values will fall drastically.
THERE WOULD BE AN EXODUS OF RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES, shops will close. Ramsgate's hugely successful service industry will suffer. Most of the superb hotels, bars and restaurants will be forced to shut down, taking the employment and training opportunities they provide elsewhere. Thanet Schools and colleges would suffer.
THE FAMOUS RAMSGATE SANDS IS ONE OF THE SOUTH-EAST'S MOST ICONIC BEACHES. Neither visitors nor locals would want to spend a day on that lovely beach with their family, under the roar of or foul emissions from heavy incoming and outgoing cargo planes flying in low over the beach itself and the town centre.
IN THE LONG TERM THIS PLAN WOULD BE A DISASTER FOR RAMSGATE - AND THANET.
PLEASE DON'T RUIN RAMSGATE AND THANET.