TDC seeks Regeneration chief. GSOH essential.

District council chiefs have begun the hunt for a new regeneration manager to oversee their ambitious plans to redevelop Thanet. The new post was advertised in the national press last week after bosses failed to find an internal candidate for the job.

Projects such as Dreamland, Manston airport, Ramsgate harbour and the London Array wind farm will dominate the council's new vision for the area. London headhunter firm Prospectus is conducting the search for candidates to lead this key area, which commands a salary of between £50,000-£75,000, depending on the recruit.

The new officer will be responsible for the council's development strategy, funding for projects and physical and social regeneration. Sources close to the recruitment process describe the schedule for Thanet's development as ambitious, and bosses are keen to attract a candidate with a proven track record to carry the Thanet 2030 vision.

The new officer will be partly judged on the successful completion of the project.

Initial interviews will be conducted between July 14 to 18, with final interviews with chief executive Sue McGonigal on July 20 to 21, in advance of an appointment on August 2.

IoT Gazette 24th Jun 2011

Airport gets new radar system - to prevent mistakes

Manston Airport is to have a new multi-million pound radar system to ensure offshore wind turbines are not mistaken for aircraft. Thales, a global aerospace technology company, is to replace the existing radar and air traffic display system.

The new system is designed to present a clearer picture to air traffic controllers and boost reliability and safety. Rotating wind turbine blades can cause so-called radar clutter that resembles the picture from a moving aircraft. The situation is expected to worsen with the development of wind farms in the Thames Estuary off Thanet, including Thanet Offshore and London Array.

The new system will be linked to a transponder zone over the wind farms. Charles Buchanan, airport chief executive, said the state-of-the-art system would allow aircraft to continue to fly safely and efficiently over the wind farms. The airport is owned by Infratil, a New Zealand company. Mr Buchanan added:

"This major investment demonstrates our owner's commitment to the future of Manston Airport and ensures the continued operation of the airport alongside the development of the offshore wind farms. As the growth of wind energy increases, it's vital that the nationally-important industries of aviation and renewables develop together to support the UK's recovering economy."

David Lockwood, head of Thales UK's air operations business, said:

"The Thales radar is ideal for Manston due to the large offshore wind farms that lie close to the airport. This contract builds upon the successful Thales ATM systems, at Inverness, Belfast International, and Cardiff airports, and reinforces our position as a leading supplier of radar and display systems to regional airports and the UK civil ATM market."

kentonline 7th Jan 2011

Thales supplies surveillance radars to Kent airport

Thales has signed a contract with Manston, Kent’s International Airport for the programme management, supply and installation of co-mounted primary surveillance and monopulse mode-S secondary surveillance radars, complete with Eurocat-C1 air traffic control (ATC) system.

Manston currently operates with a legacy, raw video, primary surveillance radar (PSR) and procures a feed of monopulse secondary surveillance radar (MSSR) data - but due to the ongoing development of three large offshore windfarms in the Thames Estuary, the legacy PSR detects returns from the turbines that are displayed as significant areas of clutter.

Thales will deliver its STAR 20002 and co-mounted RSM 970 S3 mode-S MSSR radar equipment, which are solid-state radars that will feed data into the Thales Eurocat-C radar display system. These systems will enter into operation before the end of 2011.

TheEngineer.co.uk

Residents rally on night flights at public meeting in Chatham House School

Clipping: thisiskent

RESIDENTS against plans for regular night flights at Manston airport made their anger felt at the first public meeting on the issue. The hall at Chatham House School was packed for the meeting called by Ramsgate Town Council on Monday night. It gave people the chance to air their views on an application by the owners of Manston airport, Infratil, to allow scheduled flights at night. The application was made in September to Thanet council.

The meeting, chaired by Ramsgate mayor David Green, featured speeches from Kim Gibson of the Ramsgate Alliance of Residents' Associations (Rara) and Susan Kennedy of the No to Night Flights campaign. Mrs Kennedy, who works for the East Kent NHS Trust, argued the benefit of jobs created by extra night flights was minimal and outweighed by the negative impact on the area's tourism trade. She added night flights would have a bad effect on residents' health:

"There is a mounting body of evidence which shows the serious negative impact on people's health and children's education. Noise isn't just annoying, it is dangerous, it can even be deadly."

Rara secretary Mrs Gibson also cited health dangers in relation to night flights and argued the airport had been disregarding public safety issues:

"Infratil chief executive Charles Buchanan stated at a KIACC (Kent International Airport Consultative Committee) meeting on September 17 that due to the wind farm becoming live and causing a cluster on the radar it made it very difficult to land aircraft safely. The secondary surveillance radar which will alleviate these problems will not be ready until November 2011, so for the next 13 months we are living with the possibility of a plane coming down."

The floor was also opened to Ramsgate residents who raised numerous objections to the introduction of night flights. Ronald Blake, who described himself as a "long suffering resident", said that for the people of Thanet to pay for an "expensive consultation" over night flights is "like a condemned man buying the bullet he will be executed with".

The town council sent a letter to Mr Buchanan on October 20 inviting him to attend the meeting but he declined, citing "prior business commitments". Thanet South MP Laura Sandys also sent her apologies saying she had to be in Westminster. The only member of Thanet council's Airport Working Party – which will make recommendations on the application – to speak was Councillor Mike Harrison, who assured residents of the group's impartiality, saying he had "no axe to grind one way or the other".

Ramsgate town councillors are scheduled to vote on the issue during a meeting on Wednesday, prior to a 12-week public consultation. Thanet council will not be expected to vote on night flights until next year.

By andrew woodman andrew.woodman@krnmedia.co.uk

Buchanan hails return of scheduled flights

A new airport chief has hailed the return of scheduled services as a major milestone for Manston. Charles Buchanan, who has completed his first month as the new chief executive at Kent International Airport, joined the Manston operation, run by New Zealand company Infratil, shortly after the launch of Flybe scheduled services to Edinburgh. A new service to Manchester is due to start in September. Flybe is the first scheduled operator to use KIA since the demise of EUjet several years ago.

Mr Buchanan has taken over from Matt Clarke who has returned to his native New Zealand. He was previously strategy and communications director at London City Airport, and has also held posts with Channel Tunnel operator Eurotunnel. Mr Buchanan said:

"The restarting of daily passenger services to Edinburgh in May was a major milestone for Manston. The commitment that Flybe have shown by announcing daily departures to Manchester too is an endorsement of the work of the team and the potential the airport has to offer. Having a successful regional airport is a major element in the regeneration of an area, not only by providing direct employment, but also giving access to the markets of the world."

Infratil is aiming to invest £3m in a new radar system at Manston which is designed to ensure the airport is able to operate successfully as wind farms are developed offshore the Thanet coast, including the giant London Array.

kentonline 28th Jul 2010

Consultation to follow flight figures

Clipping: thisiskent

Manston airport will reveal how many planes it wants to fly at night before a survey is taken of residents' views. The airport's new chief executive Charles Buchanan told the Isle of Thanet Gazette this week he will tell Thanet council the number of "night flight quota points" the airport wants within the next three weeks. The council will then, in September, run a public consultation on the issue and the airport's future.

Mr Buchanan, who took over the running of the airport two weeks ago, said:

"The consultation needs the figure and we are going to be providing it. There would be no point in carrying out a meaningless consultation without the number and only have to consult again at a later date. It is in everybody's interests that we come forward with the figure, and we will be."

Last February the airport's owner Infratil applied to extend the time it takes the bulk of its flights by an extra hour in the morning, to after 6am, and an extra half hour in the evening, to before 11.30pm. It has also applied to increase the number of planes it is allowed to land and have take-off between those hours. More than a year later, Thanet council is still waiting for some details of the application and the delay has caused some anger among councillors. At a meeting of the council's Airport Working Party on Monday, chairman Mike Harrison said:

"They have treated the people of Thanet with contempt over the last 12 months. We have had to wait and see if something is going to start. I hope now finally something is going to happen."

He warned that if the airport was not forthcoming with the figure, the council could reject the application altogether. A new radar mast is needed at Manston airport because of the Thanet Offshore Wind Farm. The airport has applied to build a new radar tower on its site that is not affected by the background radar noise created by the wind farm's 100 turbines. Mr Buchanan said:

"It's a slightly different radar system that can block out the disruption caused by the turbines and pick out an aircraft."

Experts from the RAF have expressed fears that too many wind farms in the English Channel could create security risks to the UK by allowing foreign aircraft to fly to our shores undetected.

New boss says airport can boost Thanet

Charles Buchanan

Clipping: thisiskent

THE new chief executive of Manston airport has underlined the part he believes it can play in regenerating Thanet. As revealed in last week's Isle of Thanet Gazette, Charles Buchanan took up the job on July 1. He was strategy and communications director at London City Airport, and has also held posts with Eurotunnel. In his first public statement Mr Buchanan said:

"The restarting of daily passenger services to Edinburgh in May was a milestone for Manston. The commitment that Flybe have shown by announcing daily departures to Manchester, starting in September, is an endorsement of the work of the team here. The owners of the airport have also demonstrated their commitment to the future of Manston operations through their planning application to install a new state-of-the-art radar system. This investment of almost £3 million will ensure the continued operation of the airport in conjunction with the wind farm arrays being developed off-shore."

Welcoming Mr Buchanan to the airport, Tom Wilson, chief executive of Infratil Airports Europe, owners of Manston, said:

"It is great to have someone of Charles's background and experience at the helm. Having spent over ten years at the successful London City Airport, leading its development and communications activities, he will play a vital part in taking the airport forward over the coming years."