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Representation by South Thanet Constituency Labour Party (South Thanet Constituency Labour Party)

Date submitted
27 September 2018
Submitted by
Members of the public/businesses

South Thanet Constituency Labour Party opposes granting a DCO 24/7 Freight Hub at Manston and require that the appointed Examining Authority thoroughly interrogate the following areas:

  1. Qualifications and experience of the applicant. RSP have no experience of running a freight hub of the scale proposed.
  2. Financial credibility of the applicant. RSP have repeated failed to declare the source of their finances.
  3. Due diligence on the applicant. Granting a DCO to a company based off shore with no track record, to the detriment of a British company with a good track record in redevelopment would be unprecedented.
  4. Fundamental flaws in the proposal and the methodology underpinning the business plan. RSP has provided no detailed long term business plan, just a list of aspirations. Repeated Independent , professional reports question whether RSP’s speculative plans are viable.
  5. Flawed assessment of the UK’s freight market. RSP have provided little evidence of demand from existing logistics companies. RSP have provided little evidence of how they will compete with existing freight hubs at Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted or East Midlands.
  6. Case for “of National Significance”. Claims that any operation of this type located in the extreme south east of the country could be of national significance are unrealistic. Manston has never been more than a minor regional airport, and has now been closed for four years with no appreciable loss, nationally, regionally or locally.
  7. Viable and credible alternatives. RSP have not provided evidence that they have seriously examined other possible locations. Both Mildenhall and Lakenheath are looking for buyers and have far better motorway connections without a town of 40,000 inhabitants at the end of the runway.
  8. Manston’s past failures. Manston has failed as a commercial airport under 3 different owners. A number of independent studies have concluded that without massive government support any operation will fail. The government’s study of future airport capacity in the south of England dismissed Manston.
  9. Geography. Almost any other location than a remote coastal peninsular would provide better logistics than RSP’s proposal. The location’s distance from any possible freight market means the operation would be particularly environmentally unfriendly.
  10. Lack of proper consideration in the proposal regarding impact on traffic and road network. RSP have shown little concern regarding the overall impact of the heavy goods and vehicles along the Thanet way, the single road access. RSP show no plans for a fuel pipeline servicing the freight hub which means the Avgas will have to be transported down the Thanet way and stored somewhere. Much of this route is just dual carriageway and already heavily used.
  11. Flawed methodology in consideration of impact of proposals on densely populated area immediately under the flight path. Ramsgate’s location with a population of 40,000 people directly under the flight path as near as 200m from the end of the runway makes the chosen location particularly unsuitable. It means that well recognised adverse effects of noise and air pollution cannot be dismissed. Night flights and associated noise. The applicant has proposes night flights and outlines significant adverse impact, something supported by medical and other expert opinion with regard to residents subjected to night flight noise. RSP confirm that the effect of noise and pollution would have an adverse effect on the residents of Thanet. Impact on local schools.

Schools on Flightpath Pupils Distance to Runway Height of Aircraft Chilton Primary School 422 1.8km 117m Ellington Infant School 204 2.5km 135m Christ Church Primary 253 2.75km 153m Chatham & Clarendon 1372 3.5km 212m Grammar Noise. During Manston’s previous operation, SEL readings from the noise monitor 3.5km from the runway consistently recorded levels well in excess of 90dB (datasets available) RSP. Teaching stopped when aeroplanes overflew schools . RSP’s proposal of 17,000 flights per year will make teaching impossible in our schools and poses a major risk to public safety and public health in Ramsgate. Underestimation of impact on local economy. The impact on Ramsgate will be severe as Ramsgate is increasing reliant on its vibrant tourist trade economically. Ramsgate has the largest conservation area of Regency and Victorian houses in the country particularly difficult to insulate and susceptible to vibration.