Representation by Michele Turriani
- Date submitted
- 8 October 2018
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
My wife and I moved to Ramsgate four years ago to escape the dangerous levels of noise and air pollution we were experiencing living in close proximity of London City Airport. We had initially excluded Ramsgate from our searches for a new home because of Manston, but local friends reassured us that Manston Airport was never to reopen as it had not been viable for years and had been sold for £1 after commercial failure. Like many other families who have recently relocated to Ramsgate, we have heavily invested in renovating a languishing listed building and in creating a thriving local community. Ramsgate and Thanet at large have suffered from decades of neglect and we are now witnessing the possibility of a renaissance with new energy and vision for the area pouring in mainly from relocating Londoners. Margate's success leads the way and it is based on the influx of creative industries practitioners, the local heritage, and the huge potential of resurrecting the dormant leisure industry. A similar potential exists in Ramsgate, with outstanding Georgian and early Victorian architecture, the stunning Royal Harbour, the potential as a seaside resort. These are the real assets of the area, and this is where sustainable jobs are found. Old freight industry has no commercial viability locally and it commercially fails. Council owned Ramsgate Port looses the council in excess of two million pounds yearly. I understand Manston Airport previously commercially failed due to its geographic position and lack of demand and infrastructure. It is my conviction that it would fail again under the current proposal as to my understanding conditions for viability haven't changed. Conversely reopening the airport for a high volume of cargo flights would have a devastating effect on heritage and the construction industry, as the influx of Londoners and their investment on restoring local properties would stop whilst it operates. It would make vain all the efforts of those who have invested in the hospitality industries, often saving and bringing back to their former splendour neglected historical buildings. It would have a very damaging effect on the population who would have to stay and endure the noise and air pollution. We would sadly have to leave and say goodbye to the listed house to whose restoration we have dedicated four years of our lives, as we would not want to subject ourselves and our one year old daughter to the environmental pollution the airport would cause and the deterioration of all aspects of the local social life that would follow. I strongly believe that reopening Manston Airport to cargo operation is the very opposite of what is needed for Thanet and it would have a hugely negative social impact on the area.