Representation by Roger Gale MP
- Date submitted
- 5 September 2018
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I write as the elected Member of Parliament for North Thanet, the seat that I have represented since 1983.
At all elections at every level of Government since the announced closure of Manston Airport there has been a clear and overwhelming local mandate for the re-opening of Manston for aviation and related businesses.
I myself have campaigned on and supported this platform in the strong belief that Manston represents a unique piece of national infrastructure that is needed in the national interest now, will be needed in the future and that, if lost, cannot be recreated.
There is already, and post-Brexit will be an enhanced, need for runway capacity in the South East , in addition to Heathrow 3, to handle freight and passenger traffic. I have studied the RiverOak Strategic Partnership proposals in detail and I believe that they offer a unique opportunity to meet the current and future needs of a United Kingdom that is currently losing valuable business to mainland European airports.
While the prime need is national I am also satisfied that the Manston Airport proposal also offers very considerable potential for the creation of high-quality jobs and apprenticeships in an area of historically high unemployment. Alternative proposals for the use of this site would not only be more environmentally unacceptable but do not offer the same employment potential.
I confirm that I have not had, do not have and will not have any financial interest of any kind in the proposed development and I shall be pleased to make myself available for interview and cross-examination in person in support of the application.