Back to list Manston Airport

Representation by Karina

Date submitted
2 October 2018
Submitted by
Members of the public/businesses

Unfortunately, I am against the plan for the reinstatement of Manston Airport. As a local resident and someone who works in the area, there are many points that I can identify that will be a hindrance rather than a help. I list the following 5 as my main points:

  1. The local road infrastructure. HGVs already cause a problem in the smaller villages and roads around the airport. With an increase of cargo planes and demand for the onward transportation of goods from the airport, this problem will grow exponentially.
  2. The local area is a green, agricultural hub. The presence of an airport, with the pollution and fuel dumping, will contaminate the local environment and affect the protected nature reserves spanning the surrounding region of the airport.
  3. The realistic number of jobs created will be minimal. A large portion of the positions will need to be filled with specially trained peoples, most likely re-distributed from already established airports.
  4. The effects of noise pollution. In a report published by the Civil Aviation Authority (2016), it lists the negative effects of noise and how it can increase stress, hypertension and cardiovascular issues. With a proposed 24hr airport, this will matter greatly with disturbed sleep, especially in children and men and women over 45 - which makes up a large portion of the local demographic.
  5. Thanet and its classic seaside towns is a growing hub for tourists and people moving down from the London area. This is an organic injection of investment into the local area, let alone the successful local council initiatives to raise the profile of its seaside towns. The presence of an airport will quickly diminish that. People don't want to move into the vicinity of an airport, so the housing market, which has recently shown an increase, will instantly be affected spoiling the efforts to encourage investment in the area.