Representation by Sarah Wallace
- Date submitted
- 30 September 2018
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
Failure to establish an economic case for creating a freight hub at Manston and lack of credentials on the part of the applicant: There is no national policy to develop dedicated air freight hubs in the UK, let alone in peripheral sites such as Manston. Demonstrable demand for the service (especially in this difficult location), investment funds and proven expertise are all missing. If this project proceeds the likelihood is it would fail. This site is needed right now for housing and mixed use development.
Noise and other pollution concerns are overwhelming: A struggling airport blighting the area for however many months or years it lasted, would reverse the hard won improvements to be seen in central Ramsgate, where positive investment by individuals, small businesses and families has been slow but steady. When Manston was operational many years ago, the sudden noise of an aeroplane right overhead whilst I was driving in central Ramsgate was so shocking that I thought a building must be collapsing and I did an emergency stop, nearly causing a crash. No one wants to live, work, go to school, visit or invest in a place where this sort of noise is happening regularly through the day and night. My elderly father lived in central Ramsgate at that time and noticed an oily film on his windows after a plane had gone overhead. Manston is simply an unsuitable site for a freight operation, as it has a town of tens of thousands of people starting only 1300m from the end of the runway. Ramsgate residents’ physical and mental health would be very significantly compromised should this scheme proceed.