A reader writes (to Bob)

I thought my email of today may be of interest and stimulate other residents to convey their views to our councillors:

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August 21st 2011

Dear Councillor Bayford,

Re Manston Airport – Proposed Night Flights

As a regular listener to BBC Radio Kent, I heard your response rebuttal to Councillor Clive Hart’s interview at 08.15 on Thursday 18th August on the Manston Night Flying issue.

I was appalled by your callous disregard for Thanet Council Tax Payer’s quality of life, plus the environmental issues; with your unreserved support and endorsement for Infratil’s proposal to impose regular scheduled night flights on the local community. 

You make a seemingly generous proposal for “widespread public consultation” on this highly contentious night flying issue; on the premise that “a regional airport is of interest to everyone in the South East”. Hence your obvious “confidence” that the public (who outside Thanet, will be unaffected by Manston’s night flight issues) will vote for night flights. By this one clever act, you have assured Infratil that they will get their way and inflict sleepless nights on local council tax payers. 

As your colleague said, a poll result is entirely dependent on who you ask and how you phrase the question. In my view, the only justification for seeking the views on anyone who is not affected by Manston’s take-off, landing and low circuit noise, would be if the question was “Do you think that an International Airport at Manston is a good idea to for holiday and business flights?” The answer to this (as you very well know) is a foregone conclusion. 

This however is not the issue – the airport unfortunately already exists and the only issue is “Should we allow night flights which will totally disrupt Thanet residents quality of life?” Thus, if the vote is to be a fair one, the only people who should be consulted are those who will be affected by the noise of night flights. Unfortunately, these days, the association of the word “fair”, with “conservative” appears dubious at best.

All this of course is not new, for we have prior experience of so called “consultations” and have reasons for skepticism. A previous council undertook these and following a resounding “No!” to night flights, they completely ignored their council tax-payers wishes and allowed the airport to extend its operating hours. Even the February 2010 Manston Airport Development survey by Stephen Ladyman concluded that 62% of Ramsgate respondents opposed night flights. So how many more times must we say that we are opposed to any form of night flying from Manston? The problem is of course, rather like the peoples referendum on the EU. If the authorities want a “Yes” and they keep getting a “No” - they continue to ask the question in different ways until they can concoct a “Yes”. So I look forward to wasting my breath giving my “No Way” views on night flying at this forthcoming round of “Public Consultations” 

Let us hope at least that unlike the last round of “consultations” this time you publicise these meeting properly through the Thanet media and also drop leaflets outlining the issue, giving venues, times and dates, through every Thanet letterbox.

Finally I would just like to say that in my view, the only reason we now have a “hung Council” is the local fear of night flights being imposed on Thanet voters, together with the knowledge that the Tory Councillors would back this idea to the hilt. The point is that many Labour Councillors (and all of the Independents) owe their seats to local Council Tax payers who voted them in because they trusted Labour rather than Conservatives to do what is right for the ordinary Thanet resident, who deserves a decent night’s sleep. 

Our only hope is that Labour continue to vote for what is right for the people that elected them (and who pay all your salaries) and that at least some Conservatives will actually start listening to their constituents. 

Yours sincerely

Mr R Fawcett

(Who has voted Conservative all his adult life)

bit.ly/nV88K1

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It's D-Day for Manston night flights

A decision that could pave the way for more night-time flights from Kent International Airport is expected this evening. Councillors in Thanet are due to vote on plans to extend the flight window, allowing planes to take off or land at Manston from 6am until 11.30pm.

Airport owner Infratil is in talks with a major European airline that wants to use the site for long-haul international cargo movements. The as yet unnamed company, reported to be British Airways, hopes to fly Boeing 747 aircraft into and out of the airport up to 11 times a week.

The local authority said the move would create up to 200 jobs but environmental campaigner Steve Dawe, spokesman for the Kent Green Party, claimed it represents the "thin end of the wedge" of expansion plans for the airport. Steve Higgins, founder of the Stop Manston Expansion Group, added:

"So many people stand to be affected by these proposals but we seem to have been forgotten about by our local councillors and MPs."

South Thanet MP and former transport minister Dr Stephen Ladyman said he supports the controlled expansion of the airport. He said:

"There is a real hunger for local employment and the opportunity to create several hundred jobs is one that must be taken."

kentonline 12th Feb 2009

It's your choice, Manston told

Manston Airport has taken a step into the big league by unveiling an £8 million apron and taxiway. Aviation minister David Jamieson officially opened the 10 acres of concrete by cutting a ceremonial ribbon. The new facility can take more and larger aircraft under a master plan that could see £150 million invested in the Thanet airport, including a new terminal and fast rail links with London over the next 10 years.

These plans could see jobs rise from 400 to 6,000, and passenger numbers soar to thee million within five years. Talks are already well advanced with low-cost airlines to operate scheduled services and a deal could be finalised by the end of the year. Mr Jamieson, who arrived by helicopter, said the airport had developed "far beyond anyone's expectations". It was now the country's seventh biggest in terms of cargo handling. He said:

"The Government very much welcomes this development and we value the contribution that the airport makes to the local community, particularly in job creation."

Referring to the recent Government regional airport report that dismissed Manston's credentials in two paragraphs, Mr Jamieson said it was up to local people to say if they wanted more growth at Manston.

"What I've seen today is a very interesting new development but it's not for me to second-guess what the future of Manston is. People should respond to the consultation document and if they want more development at Manston, they should put that forward."

Dr Steve Ladyman, MP for Thanet South, said Manston was a significant regional airport and he was not disappointed by the report. That was about extra runway capacity for London.

"With the proximity of Ramsgate, we couldn't put up with the level of traffic that an international hub would require. I'm delighted with the scale that both the owners and Government have identified for Manston. It's jobs and no pain."

Tony Freudmann, for airport owner Wiggins, said the latest development was only the first phase:

"Within two years, this will be an airport that will be well-placed to see a very rapid growth in both cargo and passengers," he said. The government's report put forward ideas that were controversial and would take years to put into place. This airport is here, it exists, it has a runway long enough for international and inter-continental traffic and it has enough expansion land for the foreseeable future."

kentonline 1st Aug 2002

Storm gathers over airport leak

Council chiefs are demanding urgent talks with ministers after reports that the Government is considering building a new airport for London on the north Kent marshes near Cliffe. According to a report in the Financial Times, Transport Secretary Stephen Byers is weighing up the idea of an airport at Cliffe and the Isle of Grain to cope with additional air traffic over the next 20 years.

The leaders of both Medway and Kent County Council are furious at the prospect. KCC council leader Cllr Sandy Bruce-Lockhart said the reports would inevitably cast a shadow over the development of Manston airport in Thanet and could potentially blight east Kent. He warned that the KCC would resist any plan and argued it was an unrealistic dream. In a letter to Transport Minister John Spellar he complains that Kent should have been told of the plans. It says:

"We place the highest priority on the regeneration of east Kent for which the development of London Manston is the key. Manston . . . is now being taken forward successfully by the private sector both for international freight and for the largest international passenger airplanes. The leak with no supporting evidence about an airport at Cliffe will cause serious blight to the development of Manston, which is now at a critical stage."

The Conservative leader of Medway Council Cllr Rodney Chambers said:

"If there is a need for extra capacity that cannot be accommodated with existing airports serving London there is already a site in Kent. If improvements were made in rail and road communications between London and Manston, especially around Thanet, that would be the appropriate place."

Thanet South MP Dr Steve Ladyman, whose constituency includes Manston, said the report was "poppycock" and he did not expect the plan would come to fruition. The Government is expected to issue a consultation paper in May.

kentonline 8th Mar 2002