Representation by John Hawting
- Date submitted
- 8 October 2018
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
Myself and my husband (details above) moved to Ramsgate in May 2018. Therefore we have no direct experience or knowledge as to what has already gone on at the Manston airport site in the past. However, we are very interested in the future development of the site and sincerely hope wisdom and justice prevail when decisions are made in the light of local residents health and wellbeing and what is best in the national interest. Our only direct experience of the negative impact of low flying aeroplanes is regularly being under the flight path at Kew Gardens in London whilst visiting friends there. At times when we have been there the planes are going over every minute or so. They are very noisy and disrupt conversation if you are outside particularly. We're assuming this will be similar at Manston from what research has told us. We would like to register with the planning inspectorate as an interested party and list our following concerns below:
- Impact on people's health - through particulate pollution from the proposed freight hub, nitrous oxide pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, noise levels and night flights.
- Impact on children's education - This would occur from regular low flying planes coming in and out of the airport throughout the night and disturb children's sleep patterns.
- Economic Viability - Successive expert reports, say it is unlikely that Manston could ever become a commercially viable operation. Apparently there is considerable spare freight capacity at Stansted and East Midlands airports.
- Funding - This is a major issue. The applicant needs to demonstrate that they have access to sufficient funding to acquire the land if they are successful. The evidence does not seem to be there.
- Biodiversity and nature conservation - The future proposals of the site as an air cargo hub could jeopardise rare wildlife on the Thanet coast, Sandwich Bay and Pegwell Bay because of the increase in noise levels and hydrocarbon pollutants from oil and fuel.
- Increase in traffic on the major roads out of the Thanet - the A28, A299 and A256. This would be because of the constant movement of fuel tankers and general freight traffic to and from Manston airport.
- The impact on Ramsgate's heritage sites - There are some 450 listed sites and buildings in the Ramsgate area. Have adequate feasibility studies been carried out in terms of the physical damage caused by extra noise and low frequency vibrations on these historic sites?
- Tourism - If the new proposals go through at the airport it could have a negative impact impact on tourism because of the reasons mentioned above and more. It will become a less attractive place to visit. This would have a major negative effect on the local economy because tourism is one of the main sources of peoples' livelihoods in Thanet and beyond.
- Flight paths - Lastly we would just like to say that people like ourselves and that runs into the thousands, living where we do in Ramsgate we would be directly below flight path, which would run for 24 hours a day. This therefore puts Ramsgate at serious risk from increase pollution, noise, visual disturbance and vibrations. We would certainly think twice about settling here and move elsewhere. At the present time we are renting with a view to buying in the area but this could change if the proposals go ahead. We are sure justice and wisdom will prevail and that the cargo hub will be found in a less populated area of Britain which would benefit the wider country more. We have every faith in Chris Grayling that he will do the right thing.