Representation by Holiday Homes Against Manston (Holiday Homes Against Manston)
- Date submitted
- 30 September 2018
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
Since Manston failed and closed its doors for the third time in May 2014 Thanet has seen a significant increase in tourism. Visit Kent published data in 2016 covering 2015 that showed that more than 3.9 million visitors come to Thanet every year. In 2015 tourists spent £293M in Thanet during their visit to the area and directly supported 6,403 jobs. A further 909 non-tourism jobs were linked to multiplier spend from tourism. This is a total of 7,312 jobs in Thanet, a reported 23% increase from 2013. Visit Kent state that tourism accounted for 17% of all jobs in Thanet, an increase of 23% since 2013. This compares to 5,562 jobs in Dover (8% increase from 2013); and 9,378 jobs in Canterbury (6% increase from 2013). In fact, no other Kent local authority district experienced an equivalent or higher increase in tourism in this period. See:[Redacted] for details.
Visitor accommodation numbers in Thanet are broken out by each of Margate, Broadstairs, Ramsgate and Out of Town. Ramsgate accounts for 26% of hotel rooms and 38% of Airbnb accommodation in Thanet (source: Population Estimates Unit, Office for National statistics © Crown Copyright) whilst Out of Town accounts for a further 27% of hotel rooms. These figures demonstrate that Ramsgate and the Out of Town villages contribute a significant proportion of tourist income to supporting local residents and the Thanet economy, potentially as much as 50% of £293M and 7,312 jobs. It is worth noting that the majority of visitor attractions in Ramsgate are under the flight path and about 3km from the end of the runway.
In spite of tourism Thanet remains among the most deprived areas in the country. In 2015 figures published by the Department of Communities and Local Government ranked Thanet as the 35th most deprived area of England and Wales of 326. It was placed as the second poorest local authority area in Kent based on factors such as unemployment, health care, crime levels and educational achievement. Consequently, any proposal that threatens the tourism industry in Thanet should, in our opinion, be put to the highest scrutiny due to the potential, significant adverse impact to an already deprived area.
Regional & City Airports owns and operates Norwich Airport, Exeter Airport, Bournemouth Airport and Coventry Airport and holds management contracts for Blackpool International Airport, City of Derry Airport and Solent Airport (formerly Daedalus Airfield) and employs almost 700 people [Redacted] Manston Airport has failed as an airport three times. In 2014 it resulted in the loss of 144 jobs.
RSP nevertheless maintains that reopening Manston as a Cargo Hub will create 23,215 total jobs in Year 20. This is predicated on RSP’s business case that forecasts Manston will attract between 10,000 – 20,000 freight ATMs a year.
These numbers lack credibility. Airfreight accounted for 0.5% of freight in tonnage in 2016. Of this, 67% is handled by Heathrow and 78.4% is handled by total London area airports. Total cargo flights in all London airports in 2017 was 14,588. RSP’s 10,000 flights would amount to 68.5% of a diminishing market, and this for a locations that is 79 miles from London. East Midlands International, Manchester, Birmingham and Doncaster Sheffield are also either significant players already, or experiencing an increase in volumes in part due to their central locations and large catchment areas. In 2013 Manston had 511 freight ATMs, 1.4% of the UK freight market by tonnage and average tonnage of 27,391t. The RSP business case requires us to believe that this will increase 20X – 40X (based on ATMs) and that Manston will successfully take market share from established players such as Stanstead and East Midlands.
The RSP benefits case is simply not realistic, and yet the future of Ramsgate, Herne Bay and the Villages that rely heavily on tourist revenues of up to 50% of £293M and up to 50% of 7,312 existing jobs hang in the balance on this basis. Regional & City Airports who own or operate seven airports employs less than 700 people. One would hope that this benchmark, the CAA airfreight data and the expert opinions of independent aviation experts including York Aviation, Falcon Consultancy and Avia Solutions will be deemed by PINS to prove that Manston is not and can never be a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project.
Holiday Homes Against Manston sincerely hopes that PINS will evaluate RSP’s proposals in light of the risk to existing tourism related income and jobs in Ramsgate and the Villages, as it is our belief that a cargo hub poses a significant threat to an already fragile economy. Whether a Manston cargo hub reaches the volumes required to constitute a NSIP or not, we believe that PINS allowing these proposals to proceed will create uncertainty and fear amongst investors in the area who rely on local tourism. We also hope that this risk will be evaluated in light of the current legal owners’ proposals which in our opinion will enhance the offer for visitors to the area, with the provision of green space, heritage aviation, best in class leisure facilities and a potential wave pool. Members of this group believe that if PINS awards the DCO to RSP those of us who contribute to the tourist industry will withdraw from the area, adding further hardship to the adverse health, safety and environmental impacts that a cargo hub will inflict.
Yours, Holiday Homes Against Manston
Holiday Homes Against Manston is a group of individuals with holiday homes in Ramsgate that was formed to discuss the impact of RSP’s proposals to reopen Manston Airport as a cargo hub on the holiday home sector. Whilst we have the luxury of main homes elsewhere, we believe that our voice is an important one because it provides insight into the likely impact of these proposals to tourism in the area. It transpires that we all open our homes up for holiday lets and in so-doing contribute to the local economy year-round, employing local roofers, bricklayers, plumbers, electricians, heating engineers, painters, buying local produce, artwork, eating and drinking out, attending local fayres, events, attractions, paying council tax and generally helping to bring money into the area from other parts of the country and indeed overseas. This year alone I have had guests to my house from Australia, Belgium, The Netherlands and Norway.