Representation by Jill Saunder-Airs
- Date submitted
- 2 October 2018
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
NOT in the national interest. This proposal, for a cargo hub as outlined in the application, is not in the national interest. It is entirely AGAINST the interests of all persons who live and travel in the SE. The roads are simply not adequate to cope with the traffic which uses them now, let alone adding more huge lorries and fuel tankers, both full and empty. Anyone who has travelled across the Dartford Crossing, using the QE2 bridge or the tunnels will know that congestion is frequently extreme. The slipway off the A2 to the crossing is often at a standstill, as is also the traffic on the bridge which can be clearly seen to be stationary. The proposer of this compulsory purchase application apparently wants the planes at Manston to be refuelled via tankers arriving from Essex over the Dartford Crossing to Kent and making their way back on the same route. This additional traffic would add to the stagnation and drudgery that is travelling in the SE on the main route to the M25. There's been some talk about perishable goods needing to be delivered in the shortest possible time - unless it is arriving and being transported at dead of night, with the hold-ups on the A2/M2/M25 there is no chance of it arriving in good quality condition. Whilst the A2/M25 is often clogged with stationary traffic at the best of times, when there are high winds, the QE2 bridge is closed and everyone is diverted through the tunnels, making journeys even slower and more arduous. Manston Airport is situated in the wrong place for a cargo hub. Instead of being a helpful addition to our country, it will add massively to our problems in the SE. I don't understand why the applicants want to purchase this property if they simply want to run an airport - there are already airports for sale which could be purchased and which are infinitely better placed geographically to distribute goods around the country.
NOT in the interests of Ramsgate residents. Due to the fact that parts of Ramsgate are situated on high ground some way above sea level, when aircraft come in over the sea and meet land, they are extremely low over the land. So low, in fact, that I have been able to see the pilot of an aircraft flying overhead. The proposal is for a cargo hub which would involve larger and older aircraft, rather than the sleek clean quieter aeroplanes used for passengers. Large old aircraft are noisier and dirtier than new craft. It is clear from the application that the request means that these older planes will be flying overhead 24/7. Indeed, to make the proposal viable, this would need to be the case. Ramsgate residents would be unable to sleep - with the consequent enormous detriment to their health. Our town has stunning heritage buildings which cannot be soundproofed. Many of us live in a conservation area. Living here would become a continual unending nightmare. Particulate matter falling from the aeroplanes would damage our lungs and erode our beautiful listed heritage buildings. Even the applicants note that the effect on Ramsgate would be significant.
OUR CHILDREN are our future - they are the future of our country. With disturbed sleep and disrupted lessons our children will suffer severe detriment to their development, health and education. How long will teachers want to teach in schools where lessons are continually interrupted while they wait for planes to pass overhead; where their pupils' results are lower than they should be, giving the impression that their teaching is poor, for reasons totally beyond their control? So there is likely to be a great deal of turnover in the staff of our schools, something which is undesirable in any institution which needs stability. This would be a knock-on effect of deafening 24/7 flights.
WILDLIFE It will not only be humans who suffer from such abominable noise and air quality. Birds have returned in abundance on the old Manston site since flying ceased. Sandwich and Pegwell Bay National Nature Reserve is just two miles from Manston. It is described as a 'complex mosaic of habitats of international importance for its bird population'. How appalling would it be to lose that wildlife for future generations, for the sake of what appears to be an unviable vanity project? Please reject the application.