Representation by Adam Rogers
- Date submitted
- 6 October 2018
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I strongly oppose the plans to reopen Manston Airport by RSP. I don’t see how a freight airport situated on a peninsular will succeed. Irrespective, I believe it would only harm the local area. Many have tried and failed to make a success of the airport. I believe this current plan is not viable for many reasons. Assuming their projected volumes were realised, goods would exit Thanet for the M2 or M20, onto the M25. When using the motorways I’m often stuck in traffic, especially on the M25. Funnelling freight lorries to the rest of the country would add more traffic to the overcrowded roads. If RSP are set on opening a freight airport, surely it would work better from other airfields / sites with a better central location. I see the runway from my property, previous owners had the odd night flight which always woke me, both from plane noise and our bungalow shaking and vibrating. The aviation fuel and exhaust fumes smell is intolerable. This is also not helped by the time that aircraft spend on the runway, with noisy engines revving before finally taking off. I don’t understand how anybody says I would get used to this noise and disruption at night. I suspect anyone that says this has not experienced what I have experienced. Night flights on any scale would make life intolerable. How would anybody within Cliffsend and surrounding impacted area function at work/school etc when sleep deprived? With the plan to build many houses at both ends of the runaway, a huge volume of people from the local area would have their heath and quality of life adversely affected, to benefit this non-UK-based company. The airport previously only employed a small number of people (mostly part time) and I don’t believe that the job creation would be anywhere near that projected by RSP. Irrespective, the adverse impact on the area would be too great. Not to mention how many jobs would be lost as a result of this disruptive freight airport e.g. in the tourism industry. The area would be ruined and might never recover. This must not happen! I often work from home which avoids travelling to my workplace outside Thanet, taking my car off the road (many colleagues and locals do the same). This would become a thing of the past as living next to a freight airport I would not be able to conduct meetings, let alone hear myself think. This ridiculous, detrimental application for an airport would have catastrophic effects on the whole of this beautiful area and all inhabitants. The adverse effects to health caused by pollution, noise, lack of sleep etc and the environmental impact needs to be seriously taken into account. All downsides with no benefits to locals that I can see. Not to mention the disruption and uncertainty that this endless cycle of non-viable airport opening, closing, and the resultant land grab scramble causes to the local area. Stop the nonsense now!