Manston a.k.a. Kent International Airport is an ex-RAF base in north-east Kent, just west of Ramsgate. It passed from the RAF to Wiggins, then PlaneStation, owners of EUJet (a budget passenger airline). EUJet went bust, and in August 2005 the administrators sold Manston to Infratil, a New Zealand-based multi-national infrastructure investor.The airport is mainly used for flying clubs, testing and training, and private planes. In 2008, less than 3% of the planes were freight or passenger flights. Infratil's growth plans for Manston are ambitious: 6 million passengers, ½ million tonnes of freight and 103,800 flights annually.
There is a "Section 106 Agreement" (S106) between Infratil and Thanet District Council (TDC) which describes what Infratil can, and can't, do at Manston. The scale of Infratil's planned growth is enough to require the S106 to be renegotiated. The existing S106 was drawn up in 2005, and needs to be renegotiated anyway as its 3 year lifespan has expired. There would be a statutory period of public consultation lasting 6 months. This consultation period has not started (as at: 22nd June 2009).
Due to the nature of airports and air travel, many more people have a stake in this than just Infratil and TDC. East Kent residents under the flightpaths, particularly in Ramsgate, but also in the Wantsum villages, Herne Bay, Whitstable and Canterbury will all be affected to some degree. Environmental groups, transport lobbies, government bodies, wildlife groups and others all have an interest. The non-partisan KIA Consultative Committee provides a valuable forum for all the interested parties to meet and discuss.
A key issue for local residents is noise. Obviously, the nearer a plane is (in both distance and height) the louder the noise; and if everything else is particularly quiet (at night) it will sound louder anyway. Which is why flightpaths, plane heights, flight times and monitoring matter so much to so many, and keep appearing on this site.
TDC have a duty to do their best to regenerate and energise Thanet, which includes some of the most deprived areas of Kent. Infratil have spent £30m on Manston so far, and have yet to make their shareholders a profit. All the East Kent residents would welcome something that benefits them. We need to find a win-win-win solution.
This is not a small decision, and the consequences will affect tens of thousands of people for years, if not decades. It's worth taking the trouble to get this one right. And everyone needs to think in the short, medium and long term.
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I was born in Ramsgate in 1948 and as a cild growing up and going to ST.Augustines Catholic school I do remember jets flying overhead.I also remember the noise that they made.I understand the problems that you are facing and of course do not know how much the town has expanded.Was there the same problem in Pegwell Bay when the hovercraft were coming in and out?Surely you remember those?Is this going to benefit the community as far as job availibity and income for the area as a whole?
ReplyDeleteHi Guys, thanks for popping by - I just noticed your comment. I've only been in the area for a few years, so I don't remember the Hovercraft, or the military jets, although I have it good authority that the jets were ear-splitting!
ReplyDeleteLike a lot of the Victorian seaside resorts, Ramsgate and Herne Bay (at either end of the runway) and to a lesser degree the rest of Thanet have been in decline for quite a few years. Decades, really. Some people get misty-eyed about the romantic faded charm, but the sad reality is higher unemployment and the jobs that are available tending to be lower paid and lower skilled. Some parts of Thanet are amongst the most socially deprived in Britain.
As a result Thanet District Council are keen, going on desperate, for anything that promises jobs. Sadly, they seem to be so keen, that they will fall over themselves for even low quality, short-term jobs (the existing jobs at Manston pay below the average for the rest of Thanet). You can't blame them for trying, but it would be better if they thought things through a bit more carefully.
I've been told of a computer company and a pharmaceutical company that were thinking of basing themselves in Ramsgate, but the planes overhead (and the promise of many more in the future) tipped the balance and they pulled out. Manston's already cost more jobs than it's created. And then there's the impact on the tourism and leisure in the area if Manston gets as busy as it aims to. And airports are dirty and noisy... and planes make greenhouse gases... and the oil's running out... and so on. You get my drift.
Have a look at the post called "Manston's future: a suggestion" for one (possibly better) approach. If you have any good ideas, do please add them to the blog.
Once again, Hi, and thanks for coming.