Representation by Mali Perdeaux
- Date submitted
- 5 October 2018
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I would like to register my grave concern about, and opposition to, the proposals to open an air freight cargo hub at the site of the former Manston Airport.
The impact of the level of air traffic required to make this a remotely viable venture - including inevitable night flights (an acknowledging that 'day flights' extend from early morning until well into the night) - with associated noise and air pollution, to say nothing of the impact of associated road freight, will be a disaster for the local area.
The evidence into the impact on health and life expectancy of people living under this sort of flight path is mounting, and damning. As the parent of a young child, I find these new proposals terrifying.
The impact on our burgeoning creative and tourist industries will be immediate and catastrophic, massively outweighing any new jobs promised in RiverOak Strategic Partners plans and curtailing the regeneration that has been taking place in recent years since investment in arts, tourism and community focussed projects such as Dreamland and the hugely successful Turner Contemporary. The trickle-down effect of these investments on regenerating the wider Isle of Thanet area (happening, but still to be firmly established) will be critically undermined.
Add to this the fact that indications are that the air freight market in the UK has plateaued since the boom in the 90s, the uncertainty surrounding Brexit (and the predicted impact on road traffic inland from the Kent coast as lorries back up from existing ports), and the £180m freight expansion plans announced - and in progress - for Heathrow and the viability of a new freight hub in this corner of the south east must be considered - at best - extremely questionable.
Further, the efforts made by RSP to inform and involve the local community in the consultation process as been woefully inadequate. Even having found out about the process (via a third party) and sought out the proposal documents, the information they contain is little more than conjecture with minimal solid information about the full scope of the plans, projected areas of impact or any planned mitigation.
I oppose these proposals in the strongest possible terms. The cost of this development - to our health, our environment, and our local economy, is simply too much to bear