Representation by Bryan Craig
- Date submitted
- 3 September 2018
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I believe that Manston should be reopened as an airport for many reasons. Some are undoubtedly emotional, such as there has been an airport / airfield of some description at Manston for about 100 years, or there are munitions and other military items buried along the runway that could be a hazard if disturbed.
However, I believe that Manston should be reopened and used primarily as a cargo airport which could well reduce the load on other regional airports, including Heathrow, which will not expand for a number of years, if indeed it does actually expand. The road links are relatively good with the option to transport goods to northern Europe via the local port at Ramsgate or from Dover or the Channel Tunnel, not just to the UK. I believe that the equestrian hub that was built by Plane Station a number of years ago should also be regarded as a prime facility for the South East.
I believe that the prospect of more and potentially better jobs in a deprived area of the country will undoubtedly help the area financially and probably socially as well. Then there is always the potential for the rail terminal to be re-established which would provide an efficient means of distributing cargo from Manston to other areas. I would imagine that any rail terminal would also provide even more jobs in the area.