Representation by Dale Hayton
- Date submitted
- 8 October 2018
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I oppose the plan for a cargo hub at Manston. This is not an application which has national strategic importance, only a small percentage of cargo is carried by air, and that percentage seems to be declining, in favour of more environmentally sound approaches. .
I live in the Central Harbour Ward of Ramsgate and hence under the intended flight path. I was born in Ramsgate nearly 60 years ago and have lived at my present address since 1991. I have observed the usage of the air field change over time, from the original RAF airbase through to the eventual uneconomic and abortive attempt to run the airport as a commercial concern which ended in 2014.
The proposal seems unrealistic in its projections; however these if these are taken at face value to evaluate the proposal, then the issues associated with them must be considered at the rate at which they would apply should the projections not prove to be over optimistic
I do not believe that it is in the national interest to attempt to resurrect this; the previous incumbent was unable to make the airport a going concern. Any cargo landed will need to be transported to its ultimate destination. There are no train freight terminals in the vicinity which would mean any cargo would need to make its onward journey by roads which are already clogged and overcrowded.
In addition to the noise and air pollution produced by the planes themselves, there would also be the noise of the lorries disturbing local residents as cargo was offloaded and transported at night and in the early hours of the morning; as well a reduction in air quality for everyone from this increased road traffic, whether they are affected by the excess noise or not.
As far as local interest goes, it is hard to imagine any benefit; the only one proposed is an alleged increase in the number of jobs available. However, the commercial airport offered 147 jobs at best.
There is no reason to expect that any new operator would offer more jobs, and so any jobs provided by the venture would be far outweighed by the number of jobs (both directly and indirectly provided by tourism) which will be lost should the proposal go ahead. Ramsgate is starting to show recovery and it would be a tragic loss should the high street revert once again to a ghost town of empty shops.
On a more personal note, our homes are on the flight path, and there are many others extremely close to the runway – the potential consequences of an accident seem high. I know from experience that when the commercial airport was in services the planes fly extremely, low, and fill the air with the smell of the engine exhausts. The noise is deafening and even if there are those who manage to sleep through it, their sleep will most certainly be disturbed, and their performance at work, will be affected as a result.