showrecentcomments({"version":"1.0","encoding":"UTF-8","feed":{"xmlns":"http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom","xmlns$openSearch":"http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/","xmlns$georss":"http://www.georss.org/georss","id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704314757429283640"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-12-01T13:30:01.640Z"},"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Planes Over Herne Bay"},"subtitle":{"type":"html","$t":"Home of the PETITION AGAINST NIGHT FLIGHTS"},"link":[{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default?alt\u003djson-in-script"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/"},{"rel":"hub","href":"http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/"},{"rel":"next","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default?alt\u003djson-in-script\u0026start-index\u003d26\u0026max-results\u003d25"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Mr. Earplugs"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/16463279110551205241"},"email":{"$t":"PlanesOverHerneBay@gmail.com"}}],"generator":{"version":"7.00","uri":"http://www.blogger.com","$t":"Blogger"},"openSearch$totalResults":{"$t":"60"},"openSearch$startIndex":{"$t":"1"},"openSearch$itemsPerPage":{"$t":"25"},"entry":[{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704314757429283640.post-5879602242295162945"},"published":{"$t":"2009-09-07T13:19:00.002+01:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-09-07T13:25:19.484+01:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Airport Working Party"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"night flights"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"consultation"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Public Consultation"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003ca onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href\u003d\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SqT50uzraHI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/rm2LqRpuKrA/s1600-h/07-09-2009+13-16-11.png\"\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 169px;\" src\u003d\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SqT50uzraHI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/rm2LqRpuKrA/s200/07-09-2009+13-16-11.png\" alt\u003d\"\" id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378698539300513906\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003eAs with comedy, the secret of good consultation is... timing. I was wondering what had happened about the public consultation on night flights that TDC had promised, so I emailed Anona Somasundaram, the Democratic Services Officer in charge of the AWP:\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-style: italic;\"\u003eMe:\u003cbr /\u003eOn 19th August a news item appeared on the TDC website about Night Flight policy:\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-style: italic;\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cblockquote\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-style: italic;\"\u003e\"The council will be engaging in a comprehensive public consultation process. Details of the process and how to be involved will be announced following a meeting of the council’s Airport Working Party.\"\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-style: italic;\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/blockquote\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-style: italic;\"\u003eAs the AWP met on the 26th August, could you let me know what the process is for public consultation.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003eAnona's reply:\u003cbr /\u003eMy understanding that a further meeting of the Working Party will be called for the purpose of agreeing a programme for public consultation.\u003c/span\u003e  \u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003eI hope to be able to confirm that shortly.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-style: italic;\"\u003eThank you for getting back to me so quickly. Two more questions:\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-style: italic;\"\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/span\u003e \u003cul\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-style: italic;\"\u003edoes the public consultation period start when the programme is announced (or has it started BEFORE the public knows what the consultation process is)?\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-style: italic;\"\u003ehow long is the public consultation period (if it's already started, when did it start)?\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ul\u003e \u003d\u003d\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003eI confirm, as stated in my earlier email, that the programme for public consultation will be finalised at the next meeting of the Airport Working Party.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eI also confirm that public consultation has not commenced. Details have still to be publicly announced, and consultation will not commence until after announcement.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003ePublic consultation will take place over a 12-week period.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-style: italic;\"\u003eYou're being very helpful - sorry to trouble you again. When \u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003eis\u003c/span\u003e the next AWP meeting? I've looked at the TDC online meetings calendar, and there's no scheduled meetings at all for the AWP for the next year (!).\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003eNo further meetings have been scheduled yet.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eI'll make a note to let you know as soon as next meeting has been arranged.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eSo, at some point in the (near?) future the Airport Working Party will convene, ruminate and pronounce. When the public have been told how the public consultation will work, \u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003eonly then\u003c/span\u003e will the 12 week clock start ticking.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eGlad that's cleared up.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003d\u003cbr /\u003eSign the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/nonightflights/\" style\u003d\"color: rgb(0, 102, 204);\"\u003epetition against night flights\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr /\u003e.:.\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7704314757429283640-5879602242295162945?l\u003dplanesoverhernebay.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/feeds/5879602242295162945/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/09/public-consultation.html#comment-form","title":"1 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/5879602242295162945"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/5879602242295162945"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/09/public-consultation.html","title":"Public Consultation"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Mr. Earplugs"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/16463279110551205241"},"email":{"$t":"PlanesOverHerneBay@gmail.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05803219300217260744"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SqT50uzraHI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/rm2LqRpuKrA/s72-c/07-09-2009+13-16-11.png","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"1"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704314757429283640.post-1909559298222074229"},"published":{"$t":"2009-09-06T15:48:00.004+01:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-09-06T15:51:57.214+01:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"the hard of thinking"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"noise"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"It's been said before..."},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"There are people who are not sensitive to noise; but they are just the very people who are not sensitive to argument, or thought, or poetry, or art, in a word, to any kind of intellectual influence. The reason of it is that the tissue of their brains is of a very rough and coarse quality.\"\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003efrom \"On Noise\" by Arthur Schopenhauer, 1851\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003d\u003cbr /\u003eSign the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/nonightflights/\" style\u003d\"color: rgb(0, 102, 204);\"\u003epetition against night flights\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr /\u003e.:.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7704314757429283640-1909559298222074229?l\u003dplanesoverhernebay.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/feeds/1909559298222074229/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/09/its-been-said-before.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/1909559298222074229"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/1909559298222074229"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/09/its-been-said-before.html","title":"It's been said before..."}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Mr. Earplugs"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/16463279110551205241"},"email":{"$t":"PlanesOverHerneBay@gmail.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05803219300217260744"}}],"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704314757429283640.post-2578962759794003102"},"published":{"$t":"2009-08-10T23:42:00.003+01:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-08-10T23:54:06.481+01:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Cllr Harrison"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"altitude"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Section 106"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"MasterPlan"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Infratil"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Kent International Airport"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Manston"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Wiggins' routes"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003ca onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href\u003d\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SoCZ-hcNgMI/AAAAAAAAATs/dLoBoZVgYgU/s1600-h/10-08-2009+22-57-25+Wiggins+logo.png\"\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 130px; height: 146px;\" src\u003d\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SoCZ-hcNgMI/AAAAAAAAATs/dLoBoZVgYgU/s200/10-08-2009+22-57-25+Wiggins+logo.png\" alt\u003d\"\" id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368460055233265858\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003eA red letter day, dear reader. One of my undercover researchers (codename: Casey) has unearthed a map of the routes agreed between Wiggins and TDC many moons ago. Apparently one of the lead negotiators from the TDC side was Cllr Harrison. These 'people-friendly' routes didn't make it into the Section 106 Agreement due to an oversight by, er, Cllr Harrison. Shame.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eThese routes were mentioned at a meeting held at Manston, chaired by the omnipresent Cllr Harrison. I got the impression that these route maps had somehow wisped away to nothingness, lost forever to the eyes of mortals. I'm pleased to have sight of them at last. I expect Infratil and TDC will be thrilled, too. Now that they don't have to go through the rigmarole of (re)negotiating effective noise abatement routes, they can use the time they've saved to install fixed noise monitors under the newly agreed routes.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eThe carefully drawn coloured lines on the map are explained by the accompanying colour-coded key.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cdiv style\u003d\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003ca onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href\u003d\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SoCZ4HAlsBI/AAAAAAAAATk/k78pTdGoy3o/s1600-h/P1010245b.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 285px;\" src\u003d\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SoCZ4HAlsBI/AAAAAAAAATk/k78pTdGoy3o/s400/P1010245b.jpg\" alt\u003d\"\" id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368459945058873362\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:85%;\"\u003e(Click it to big it.)\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/div\u003eThe red route labelled 1 is the standard westward instrument departure route: by the time the plane is doubling back on itself and heading south, it's supposed to be at 3,000 feet and climbing. Route 2 is the alternative westward route; route 3 is the standard eastward instrument departure route. All of the other lines and boxes are explained in the key.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cdiv style\u003d\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003ca onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href\u003d\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SoCZt9LdN_I/AAAAAAAAATc/x6W6GQbfSrE/s1600-h/P1010254b.jpg\"\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 282px; height: 400px;\" src\u003d\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SoCZt9LdN_I/AAAAAAAAATc/x6W6GQbfSrE/s400/P1010254b.jpg\" alt\u003d\"\" id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5368459770621409266\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:85%;\"\u003e(Click it to big it.)\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e  What I find interesting about this is that it so clearly shows what is achievable. The planes \u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ecan\u003c/span\u003e fly people-friendly routes. So what do you think the odds are of anything resembling this appearing in the next S106 Agreement?\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003d\u003cbr /\u003eRelated posts:\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/04/altitude-sickness.html\"\u003eAltitude sickness: sub-standard aircraft monitoring at Manston\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/04/before-i-die-of-rage.html\"\u003eBefore I die of rage: Infratil ignores residents\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/05/jfk-vs-kia.html\"\u003eJFK vs KIA: planes can avoid flying over residential areas\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/04/yes-we-can-enjoy-being-awake.html\"\u003eYES WE CAN: Enjoy being awake\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003d\u003cbr /\u003eSign the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/nonightflights/\" style\u003d\"color: rgb(0, 102, 204);\"\u003epetition against night flights\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr /\u003e.:.\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7704314757429283640-2578962759794003102?l\u003dplanesoverhernebay.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/feeds/2578962759794003102/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/08/wiggins-routes.html#comment-form","title":"4 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/2578962759794003102"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/2578962759794003102"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/08/wiggins-routes.html","title":"Wiggins' routes"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Mr. Earplugs"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/16463279110551205241"},"email":{"$t":"PlanesOverHerneBay@gmail.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05803219300217260744"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SoCZ-hcNgMI/AAAAAAAAATs/dLoBoZVgYgU/s72-c/10-08-2009+22-57-25+Wiggins+logo.png","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"4"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704314757429283640.post-7263574737020813967"},"published":{"$t":"2009-08-03T00:27:00.004+01:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-08-03T09:34:57.961+01:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Westgate"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ramsgate"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Herne Bay"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Kent International Airport"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Manston"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Broadstairs"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Canterbury"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Whitstable"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"noise"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"peace and quiet"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Margate"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Birchington"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"MasterPlan"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"CPRE"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Noisy nuisance neighbour"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003ca onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href\u003d\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SnYYvALb1II/AAAAAAAAATE/RCNEZaYJO5E/s1600-h/02-08-2009+23-50-12+Tranquil+Kent.png\"\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 146px;\" src\u003d\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SnYYvALb1II/AAAAAAAAATE/RCNEZaYJO5E/s200/02-08-2009+23-50-12+Tranquil+Kent.png\" alt\u003d\"\" id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365503201839404162\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003eThose nice people at the CPRE have produced some \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.cpre.org.uk/campaigns/landscape/tranquillity/national-and-regional-tranquillity-maps\"\u003emaps\u003c/a\u003e that are both pretty and informative. They show the distribution of \"Tranquility\" across our fine nation, and come with an \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.cpre.org.uk/campaigns/landscape/tranquillity/our-tranquillity-map-explained\"\u003eexplanation\u003c/a\u003e of how the CPRE assess tranquility.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eLooking at the map of Kent (click it to big it) the cities and towns are easy to spot, as is the M20 running through Ashford to Folkestone, and the roads radiating out from Canterbury.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eLooking more closely at North-east Kent, it's easy to spot Whitstable, Herne Bay, Birchington, Westgate, Margate, Broadstairs, Ramsgate and Canterbury.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href\u003d\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SnYY3YMACCI/AAAAAAAAATM/xbQcUyVEHTs/s1600-h/02-08-2009+23-51-34+Tranquil+Thanet.png\"\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 285px;\" src\u003d\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SnYY3YMACCI/AAAAAAAAATM/xbQcUyVEHTs/s400/02-08-2009+23-51-34+Tranquil+Thanet.png\" alt\u003d\"\" id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365503345723181090\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003eBut what's that red smudge of non-tranquility, just west of Ramsgate and south of Westgate? An all-night rave at Acol? Burning the candle at both ends in Minster? Innumerable painted lady butterflies smashing their wings together? Countless ladybirds clattering about like tiny scarlet castanets?\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eNope. It's everyone's favourite neighbour: Kent International Airport at Manston. Even with the current (\"unsustainable\") low level of traffic, they have as much impact on the quality of life as a small town. By way of reminder, dear reader, the airport's strategy is to achieve 103,800 flights a year. Equivalent to one every 5 minutes, day and night, all year. You may as well fish out your favourite crimson lippy and colour in all the rest of Thanet a noisy red.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eOr you could sign the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/nonightflights/\" style\u003d\"color: rgb(0, 102, 204);\"\u003epetition against night flights\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003d\u003cbr /\u003eRelated posts:\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:100%;\"\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/04/yes-we-can-sleep_09.html\" style\u003d\"color: rgb(0, 51, 102);\"\u003eYes We Can: Sleep\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/07/fact-o-matic-noise-part-1.html\"\u003eFact-o-matic: Noise\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003d\u003cbr /\u003eSign the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/nonightflights/\" style\u003d\"color: rgb(0, 102, 204);\"\u003epetition against night flights\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr /\u003e.:.\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7704314757429283640-7263574737020813967?l\u003dplanesoverhernebay.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/feeds/7263574737020813967/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/08/noisy-nuisance-neighbour.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/7263574737020813967"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/7263574737020813967"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/08/noisy-nuisance-neighbour.html","title":"Noisy nuisance neighbour"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Mr. Earplugs"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/16463279110551205241"},"email":{"$t":"PlanesOverHerneBay@gmail.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05803219300217260744"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SnYYvALb1II/AAAAAAAAATE/RCNEZaYJO5E/s72-c/02-08-2009+23-50-12+Tranquil+Kent.png","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704314757429283640.post-630581822480131425"},"published":{"$t":"2009-07-21T01:00:00.004+01:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-07-21T14:45:29.258+01:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ramsgate"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Manston Parkway"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"TDC"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Manston Business Park"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Southeastern Network"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Westwood"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Manston Parkway Station"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003ca onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href\u003d\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SmSffvKcz_I/AAAAAAAAASM/x6rl3a9SPSY/s1600-h/SnagIt-2009-07-19+at+235213.png\"\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 138px; height: 200px;\" src\u003d\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SmSffvKcz_I/AAAAAAAAASM/x6rl3a9SPSY/s200/SnagIt-2009-07-19+at+235213.png\" alt\u003d\"\" id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360584824062791666\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003eThe proposed station is intended to link Kent International Airport (Manston) to the Southeastern High Speed rail service. Somehow. On the left is Southeastern Network's map of their routes (click it to big it).\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eThe pale grey track that loops out from the existing Eutrostar route between Ebbsfleet and Ashford is the new high-speed rail link, taking in the Medway towns, the north Kent coast, Thanet and Canterbury. We are being promised shorter journey times from December 2009 - \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/index.php/cms/pages/view/66\"\u003eclick\u003c/a\u003e for a list of forthcoming disappointments.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eThe map's legend has a symbol for Airport Interchange, notably missing from the Ramsgate area, for the simple reason that the Interchange or Parkway Station doesn't exist. Here's the high-speed link on a conventional map: the route is the blue line; the blue pins are stations; the red bits are explained later. Click \u003ca href\u003d\"http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?ie\u003dUTF8\u0026amp;msa\u003d0\u0026amp;msid\u003d113939963251594599532.00046f01bb1def9992722\u0026amp;ll\u003d51.346161,1.376209\u0026amp;spn\u003d0.095749,0.218697\u0026amp;t\u003dp\u0026amp;z\u003d13\"\u003ehere\u003c/a\u003e to see the full Google map.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href\u003d\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SmSf82e7lTI/AAAAAAAAASk/NBe1bwDGPQk/s1600-h/SnagIt-2009-07-20+at+174836.png\"\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 228px;\" src\u003d\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SmSf82e7lTI/AAAAAAAAASk/NBe1bwDGPQk/s320/SnagIt-2009-07-20+at+174836.png\" alt\u003d\"\" id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360585324243948850\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003eWhich brings us lumbering to the inevitable question: where will that little Airport Interchange symbol go? Where will Manston Parkway be built?\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href\u003d\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SmSfXasyx4I/AAAAAAAAASE/iJ5pqxar6H4/s1600-h/SnagIt-2009-07-20+at+161408.png\"\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 136px;\" src\u003d\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SmSfXasyx4I/AAAAAAAAASE/iJ5pqxar6H4/s400/SnagIt-2009-07-20+at+161408.png\" alt\u003d\"\" id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360584681130739586\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003eThe strategy document is curiously non-committal, but suggests somewhere in the vicinity of the airport (sensible) \u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;\"\u003eand\u003c/span\u003e the Eurokent Business Park and Westwood (mad).\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href\u003d\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SmT1nvHbSEI/AAAAAAAAAS8/wWLTAoXqd60/s1600-h/SnagIt-2009-07-20+at+235344.png\"\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 207px;\" src\u003d\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SmT1nvHbSEI/AAAAAAAAAS8/wWLTAoXqd60/s400/SnagIt-2009-07-20+at+235344.png\" alt\u003d\"\" id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360679519489050690\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eIn this close-up of the earlier map, the red pins are the Manston Business Park (MBP) and Westwood, the red block the runway, the pink area around it the airport site, and the little yellow blob the Passenger Terminal.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cul\u003e\u003cli\u003eBuilding the Parkway half way between MBP/Westwood and KIA will be a poor solution for both, offering only a marginal improvement over using the existing Ramsgate station.\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003eIf it's built at KIA, it will be as far from MBP/Westwood as the existing Ramsgate station, thus offering no advantage to MBP/Westwood.\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003eIf it's built at MBP/Westwood, it will be as far from KIA as the existing Ramsgate station, thus offering no advantage to KIA.\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ul\u003eIntroducing MBP/Westwood into the calculations is bonkers - it instantly creates more problems than it solves. Let's assume instead that the airport is the sole driver. Dear reader, if you ran the world, how would you get passengers from the airport onto the high-speed link?\u003cbr /\u003e\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003ea shuttle bus service from the Passenger Terminal, along the Manston Road to Ramsgate Station;\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003emodify the Manston Road to make it straighter and faster, or just build a dedicated faster, straighter road;\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003enick a few miles of the Docklands Light Railway (or build your own) and some of those neat electric shuttle trains. This service could run straight into Ramgate Station, passengers then just walk across the platform onto the high-speed train to St Pancras, where they can then wrestle their luggage through the Tube network to get somewhere useful;\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003ebuild a new station \u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003eon\u003c/span\u003e the high-speed route, where the track is nearest the southern tip of the airport, with a bus service from the Passenger Terminal to the new station.\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003eIn terms of practicality:\u003cbr /\u003e\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003eyou could start tomorrow for the cost of hiring or buying some coaches;\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003estraightening the road would cause months of delays, and would need the agreement of many landowners (as would building a new road);\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003ea light rail service would also need the agreement of many landowners, and would involve some major works at Ramsgate Station itself;\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003eretro-fitting additional stations on the fastest stretch of the high-speed loop would be counter-productive. The train would have to crawl from Ramsgate to Parkway and wait for at least the minimum 2 minutes before restarting.\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003eWhichever solution is chosen, there is still the problem of the cost of the train journey. Rail fares from Kent to London are (unreasonably) expensive, and the high-speed service will apparently be 10-20% dearer still. This doesn't sit easily with a business model based on high volume, low budget passenger traffic - the train ticket could be costing as much as the plane ticket.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eLocal tourists, drawn from the airport's catchment area, are more likely to drive to the relatively cheap car park at Manston. Foreign tourists heading for London can choose from other airports that have cheaper connections to the capital.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eI don't see Manston Parkway Station being built. Do you?\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003d\u003cbr /\u003eRelated posts:\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/05/outer-london.html\"\u003eOuter London: Manston Airport's in the wrong place\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/05/seppuku-lite.html\"\u003eSeppuku Lite: Infratil's business model is corporate suicide\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/07/manstons-future-suggestion.html\"\u003eManston's future: a suggestion\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003d\u003cbr /\u003eSign the \u003ca style\u003d\"color: rgb(0, 102, 204);\" href\u003d\"http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/nonightflights/\"\u003epetition against night flights\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr /\u003e.:.\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7704314757429283640-630581822480131425?l\u003dplanesoverhernebay.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/feeds/630581822480131425/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/07/manston-parkway-station.html#comment-form","title":"6 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/630581822480131425"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/630581822480131425"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/07/manston-parkway-station.html","title":"Manston Parkway Station"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Mr. Earplugs"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/16463279110551205241"},"email":{"$t":"PlanesOverHerneBay@gmail.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05803219300217260744"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SmSffvKcz_I/AAAAAAAAASM/x6rl3a9SPSY/s72-c/SnagIt-2009-07-19+at+235213.png","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"6"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704314757429283640.post-3029219432044587944"},"published":{"$t":"2009-07-16T00:07:00.003+01:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-07-16T00:28:57.873+01:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"expansion"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Boris Island"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Paul Carter"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"KIACC"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Manston"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Jet Carter"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003ca onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href\u003d\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/Sl5em6RxMvI/AAAAAAAAAR0/NNrsNhOfSpA/s1600-h/SnagIt-2009-07-15+at+235554+Hypocrite.png\"\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 183px;\" src\u003d\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/Sl5em6RxMvI/AAAAAAAAAR0/NNrsNhOfSpA/s200/SnagIt-2009-07-15+at+235554+Hypocrite.png\" alt\u003d\"\" id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358824629189292786\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003eBehold last week's pithy missive from Mrs. Earplugs to \u003ca href\u003d\"http://democracy.kent.gov.uk/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID\u003d197\"\u003ePaul Carter FC\u003c/a\u003e via his \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.kent.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/democracy-and-elections/cabinet/leaders-blog.htm\"\u003eblog\u003c/a\u003e on the KCC website:\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cblockquote\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-style: italic;\"\u003e\"You say you understand that Boris doesn't want a third runway at Heathrow and that you don't want an airport in the estuary. And then you say you want more use to be made of Manston. Of course, you live nowhere near it, so you will not be experiencing what we on the flight path will experience.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eAlso, you have demonstrated by your avoidance of the KIACC meetings how little attention you propose to pay to the views of those most affected by your dreams of seeing more flights at Manston. May I borrow the phrase you used of the Audit Commission and categorise this as \"stunning hypocrisy\" on your part?\"\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/blockquote\u003eNo reply yet, I expect he's busy. Maybe he doesn't agree with her analysis. Maybe you do.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003d\u003cbr /\u003eRelated posts:\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/06/paul-carter-how-dare-you.html\"\u003ePaul Carter. How dare you.\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003d\u003cbr /\u003eSign the \u003ca style\u003d\"color: rgb(0, 102, 204);\" href\u003d\"http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/nonightflights/\"\u003epetition against night flights\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr /\u003e.:.\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7704314757429283640-3029219432044587944?l\u003dplanesoverhernebay.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/feeds/3029219432044587944/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/07/jet-carter.html#comment-form","title":"2 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/3029219432044587944"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/3029219432044587944"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/07/jet-carter.html","title":"Jet Carter"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Mr. Earplugs"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/16463279110551205241"},"email":{"$t":"PlanesOverHerneBay@gmail.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05803219300217260744"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/Sl5em6RxMvI/AAAAAAAAAR0/NNrsNhOfSpA/s72-c/SnagIt-2009-07-15+at+235554+Hypocrite.png","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"2"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704314757429283640.post-6340728553348404681"},"published":{"$t":"2009-07-14T17:29:00.003+01:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-07-14T17:50:00.853+01:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Matt Clarke"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Cllr Gregory"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Cllr Ezekial"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Cllr Latchford"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"MasterPlan"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Infratil"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Thanet District Council"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Kent International Airport"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Manston"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Whisper who dares: TDC's covert planning"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003ca onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href\u003d\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SlymXc6s3iI/AAAAAAAAARs/qfJdWw-K6Ks/s1600-h/SnagIt-2009-07-14+at+163618+Sshhh.png\"\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 161px; height: 200px;\" src\u003d\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SlymXc6s3iI/AAAAAAAAARs/qfJdWw-K6Ks/s200/SnagIt-2009-07-14+at+163618+Sshhh.png\" alt\u003d\"\" id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358340578493652514\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cdiv xmlns\u003d\"http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml\"\u003eMany thanks to the eagle-eyed Mr Child for alerting the world to a \u003ca href\u003d\"http://thanetonline.blogspot.com/2009/07/bizarre-and-secretive-working-party-in.html\"\u003ecuriously hush-hush meeting\u003c/a\u003e. Membership, attendance, time and location are public knowledge. We can see the topics to be discussed. But that's it. The minutes from the only other meeting this year (in May) are restricted. The details of the topics to be discussed are restricted. Even the reasons for the restrictions aren't clear.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eTo pre-empt being patronised by the more world-weary amongst you, yes I do understand about commercial confidentiality - in the brief twinkle of my life to date I have been party to such things myself.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eWhat makes me uneasy is that this is when the flaws that are inherent in democracy become magnified. Because of the first past the post system, and the shameful laziness of British voters, the winning party (at every tier of government) is almost always chosen by a minority of the eligible electorate. From amongst their own number, the winners select (or are presented with) a leader and leading team. That individual, and handful, then hold sway over the lives and livelihoods of tens of thousands. It's a bad system, but not the worst.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eThe secret meeting mentioned above is the TDC Local Development Framework Working Party, which formulates the spatial strategy and plan for the District. The Working Party consists of a clerk, whatever professional Officers are needed, and 5 Councillors, split 3:2 between the majority and minority parties. Party politics being the disappointing thing that it is, the odds are that the 3 will vote as one, the 2 will vote as one, and that the two groups will often vote against each other.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eThus we find Cllrs Ezekial, Latchford and Gregory determining high-level long-term strategy on e.g. KIA and Westwood, with \u003cb\u003eno public, no press, no minutes\u003c/b\u003e. At May's meeting they apparently decided to invite Matt Clarke of Infratil to the 22nd July meeting, presumably for the Agenda item \"Airport Masterplan - Presentation and report\".\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eInfratil released their \u003cspan style\u003d\"font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;\"\u003eDraft \u003c/span\u003eMasterplan at the end of last year, and not everyone was impressed. The CPRE said that it fell so far short of Government guidelines for Masterplans, and was so lacking in key information, that it should have been completely redrafted. This didn't happen, of course. I'm assuming that the \"Airport Masterplan\" referred to in the Agenda is the post-consultation (remember all that consultation?), refined and finalised Masterplan. Let's hope they don't keep it secret too long.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eWhat little I've heard about the Three Framework Councillors ranges from disappointing to lurid. Matt Clarke is more driven, and possibly brighter, than the three combined. So we have the TDC leadership (reportedly of questionable judgement and Standards) planning the future with the local representative of Infratil (extremely wealthy and increasingly urgent in their need for results).\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eI expect Matt to deliver a competent presentation along the lines of: co-operation will lead to jobs aplenty; non-compliance or resistance will bring closure and redundancies. He'll be pushing at an open door: they \u003cspan style\u003d\"font-style: italic;\"\u003ewant \u003c/span\u003eto believe that Manston can bring thousands of jobs. He'll run rings round them. It's Brian White's job to assess how realistic Infratil's forecasts are, whether there are better and/or quicker and/or more sustainable job creation plans, and the wisdom (in terms of eggs and baskets) of actively engineering a situation where so many local jobs depend on a single fragile and volatile industry. Unfortunately, none of us will ever see the minutes.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003d\u003cbr /\u003eSign the \u003ca style\u003d\"color: rgb(0, 102, 204);\" href\u003d\"http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/nonightflights/\"\u003epetition against night flights\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr /\u003e.:.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7704314757429283640-6340728553348404681?l\u003dplanesoverhernebay.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/feeds/6340728553348404681/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/07/whisper-who-dares-tdcs-covert-planning.html#comment-form","title":"6 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/6340728553348404681"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/6340728553348404681"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/07/whisper-who-dares-tdcs-covert-planning.html","title":"Whisper who dares: TDC's covert planning"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Mr. Earplugs"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/16463279110551205241"},"email":{"$t":"PlanesOverHerneBay@gmail.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05803219300217260744"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SlymXc6s3iI/AAAAAAAAARs/qfJdWw-K6Ks/s72-c/SnagIt-2009-07-14+at+163618+Sshhh.png","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"6"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704314757429283640.post-6469902720844747672"},"published":{"$t":"2009-07-12T16:38:00.007+01:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-07-13T11:35:33.687+01:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Fact-o-Matic"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"noise"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"decibels"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Fact-o-Matic: Noise"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003ca href\u003d'http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SlmSQw666aI/AAAAAAAAARk/6gF1gOW4554/s1600-h/SnagIt-2009-07-12+at+001225.png' onblur\u003d'try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}'\u003e\u003cimg border\u003d'0' id\u003d'BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357474048441510306' alt\u003d'' src\u003d'http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SlmSQw666aI/AAAAAAAAARk/6gF1gOW4554/s200/SnagIt-2009-07-12+at+001225.png' style\u003d'margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 127px;'/\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cdiv xmlns\u003d'http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'\u003eDear reader, your ears are astonishing. They have a subtle sensitivity that is beyond the skills of modern science to duplicate. And they're kinda cute. Millions of years of selective honing have produced a very capable system: consider what an extraordinary and useful skill it is to be able to tell when a politician is lying to you, even with your eyes shut.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eBoffins try to deal with sound by analysing it as changes in air pressure (decibels), which turns out to be a rather crude system. Using decibels to describe sound is like trying to describe the ocean by measuring the height of the waves: it's definitely true and informative, but it's a long way from being the whole picture. Unfortunately, 'we are where we are' as the pointless phrase has it, so let's have a closer look at these clumsy decibels.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThe way decibels are counted is a bit bonkers. Zero decibels (0 dB) is \u003cspan style\u003d'font-weight: bold;'\u003enot\u003c/span\u003e silence. No, zero decibels  is \u003cspan style\u003d'font-style: italic;'\u003ethe softest sound a person with normal hearing can hear at least 50% of the time\u003c/span\u003e.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eWorse still, decibels are measured on what is called a logarithmic scale. This means that if a sound is increased by 10 decibels, it actually doubles in loudness as we perceive it - it sounds twice as loud to us. If a sound is decreased by 10 decibels, it seems as if the volume has been halved.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eYou couldn't make it up.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eHere are all the examples of decibel levels of everyday sounds that I could find, to give you a feel for how the scale works:\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e0 dB      Threshold of hearing\u003cbr/\u003e10 dB    Rustle of leaves\u003cbr/\u003e20 dB    Water dripping\u003cbr/\u003e30 dB    Soft whisper\u003cbr/\u003e40 dB    Quiet radio in room, refrigerator\u003cbr/\u003e50 dB    Normal conversation, moderate rainfall, light traffic\u003cbr/\u003e55 dB    Quiet suburban neighborhood\u003cbr/\u003e60 dB    Conversation, busy general office\u003cbr/\u003e70 dB    Noisy restaurant, car at 40mph at 7 metres\u003cbr/\u003e75 dB    Dishwasher, washing machine, vacuum cleaner\u003cbr/\u003e80 dB    Alarm clock, blow dryer\u003cbr/\u003e85 dB    Electric razor\u003cbr/\u003e90 dB    Roar of sports crowd, lawn mower\u003cbr/\u003e95 dB Pneumatic drill at 7 metres\u003cbr/\u003e100 dB    Snowmobile, chainsaw, power tools\u003cbr/\u003e102 dB    Leaf blower\u003cbr/\u003e110 dB    Stereo headset, rock music\u003cbr/\u003e115 dB    Subway train screech\u003cbr/\u003e120 dB    Rock concert, thunderclap, jet take-off at 300 metres\u003cbr/\u003e130 dB    .22 caliber rifle\u003cbr/\u003e140 dB Firecracker, jet take-off at 50 metres, pain threshold\u003cbr/\u003e170 dB    High-powered shotgun\u003cbr/\u003e180 dB    Rocket launch\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eAround the 70 dB mark is the boundary between things that you might think of as quiet, and those that are loud. The logarithmic scale has the result that as the numbers increase over 70 dB, things start getting \u003cspan style\u003d'font-weight: bold;'\u003ea lot\u003c/span\u003e louder. Coming soon (as if you hadn't guessed): the harm that noise can cause, and the noise from planes.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d'font-weight: bold;'\u003eFacts™\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan style\u003d'font-style: italic;'\u003e\"... I'm loving it!\"\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d'font-weight: bold;'\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003d\u003cbr/\u003eRelated posts:\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d'font-size: 100%;'\u003e\u003ca style\u003d'color: rgb(0, 51, 102);' href\u003d'http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/04/yes-we-can-sleep_09.html'\u003eYes We Can: Sleep\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003d\u003cbr/\u003eSign the \u003ca style\u003d'color: rgb(0, 102, 204);' href\u003d'http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/nonightflights/'\u003epetition against night flights\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr/\u003e.:.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7704314757429283640-6469902720844747672?l\u003dplanesoverhernebay.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/feeds/6469902720844747672/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/07/fact-o-matic-noise-part-1.html#comment-form","title":"1 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/6469902720844747672"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/6469902720844747672"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/07/fact-o-matic-noise-part-1.html","title":"Fact-o-Matic: Noise"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Mr. Earplugs"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/16463279110551205241"},"email":{"$t":"PlanesOverHerneBay@gmail.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05803219300217260744"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SlmSQw666aI/AAAAAAAAARk/6gF1gOW4554/s72-c/SnagIt-2009-07-12+at+001225.png","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"1"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704314757429283640.post-7509180967037665797"},"published":{"$t":"2009-07-09T00:19:00.007+01:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-07-10T16:12:49.988+01:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"employment"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Manston"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Manston employee"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"Well, I'm pleased to see that you get into work nice and early, but is this \u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ereally\u003c/span\u003e what you're paid to do throughout your 'working' day?\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href\u003d\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/Slc7FH1UELI/AAAAAAAAARM/8k-RLTPT19w/s1600-h/SnagIt-2009-07-09+at+001010+with+arrows.png\"\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 309px; height: 400px;\" src\u003d\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/Slc7FH1UELI/AAAAAAAAARM/8k-RLTPT19w/s400/SnagIt-2009-07-09+at+001010+with+arrows.png\" alt\u003d\"\" id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356815240968540338\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cdiv style\u003d\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:85%;\"\u003e(Click the picture to enlarge it.)\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cdiv style\u003d\"text-align: left;\"\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eSee the comments for an explanation of the arrows.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003d\u003cbr /\u003eSign the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/nonightflights/\"\u003epetition against night flights\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr /\u003e.:.\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7704314757429283640-7509180967037665797?l\u003dplanesoverhernebay.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/feeds/7509180967037665797/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/07/manston-employee.html#comment-form","title":"18 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/7509180967037665797"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/7509180967037665797"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/07/manston-employee.html","title":"Manston employee"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Mr. Earplugs"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/16463279110551205241"},"email":{"$t":"PlanesOverHerneBay@gmail.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05803219300217260744"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/Slc7FH1UELI/AAAAAAAAARM/8k-RLTPT19w/s72-c/SnagIt-2009-07-09+at+001010+with+arrows.png","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"18"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704314757429283640.post-7067422398495072207"},"published":{"$t":"2009-07-06T09:31:00.006+01:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-07-11T14:57:29.673+01:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"employment"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"TDC"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"green housing"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Regeneration"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Manston"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Manston's future: a suggestion"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cdiv xmlns\u003d'http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'\u003e\u003ca href\u003d'http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SlGzA8tQETI/AAAAAAAAAQs/J3OsfKwyS5k/s1600-h/SnagIt-2009-07-06+at+091437.png' onblur\u003d'try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}'\u003e\u003cimg border\u003d'0' id\u003d'BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355258260797526322' alt\u003d'' src\u003d'http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SlGzA8tQETI/AAAAAAAAAQs/J3OsfKwyS5k/s200/SnagIt-2009-07-06+at+091437.png' style\u003d'margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 161px; height: 200px;'/\u003e\u003c/a\u003eGrab a hefty chunk of the TDC Regeneration budget. This is the prize money. The competition: affordable, quick-build, long-life, green housing. The location: Manston's runway, 2.7km of high performance concrete and tarmac - ready-made foundations for just about anything.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eEstablished manufacturers can offer designs straight from their existing catalogues. Newcomers, green building groups, small design firms and the like will be more inventive. Large and small alike, all these people like the prestige of winning competitions, particularly if there's a cash prize.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThe criteria for the competition can consist almost entirely of popular buzz-words like: zero carbon footprint; easy assembly; recycled/sustainable materials; reproducible; removable; practical; and flexible. A key condition is that each competitor puts up at least TWO identical copies of their buildings - one is to be used as the walk-around exhibit, the other(s) will house real people.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThe TDC environmental people, aided and abetted by utility companies, Government departments, and so on, can pepper the inhabited houses with environmental and energy monitoring gadgets. The real people living in the new green houses can give a running commentary (video-blog?) on how live-in-able their homes are in practice. These two factors are added to the mix (cost, green-ness, impact on local economy, etc.) when choosing the winning design, which will receive a quarter of the prize pot.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eIf there are enough proposals of a high enough standard, one or two dozen designs could be chosen to be built. At a stroke, you have a green housing showcase, open air research lab and attention magnet rolled into one.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eRe-run the competition at three month intervals. By the end of the year, you will have a green housing exhibition park with 50 to 100 \u003cb\u003edifferent\u003c/b\u003e innovative green homes, on show and being lived in by real people. There's nothing like it anywhere in Kent, probably anywhere in the country. It will attract interest, visitors, businesses and investment.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eAffordable housing will always be necessary. Green housing is increasingly popular. House-building is an established and proven way of generating local employment, and supports its own network of trades, suppliers and services.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eAs an alternative use of the Manston site, this ticks a lot of boxes. Agree?\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003d\u003cbr/\u003e Related posts:\u003cbr/\u003e\u003ca href\u003d'http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/07/manstons-future-suggestion.html'/\u003e\u003ca href\u003d'http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/05/regen-park.html'\u003eRegen Park: there are better ways of regenerating Thanet\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003ca href\u003d'http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/05/outer-london.html'\u003eOuter London: Manston Airport's in the wrong place\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003ca href\u003d'http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/04/rearrange-kent-international-airport.html'\u003eRearrange Kent International Airport: possible uses for the Manston site\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003ca href\u003d'http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/04/controlled-descent.html'\u003eControlled descent: Manston's uncertain future with Infrati\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca href\u003d'http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/04/controlled-descent.html'\u003el\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003d\u003cbr/\u003eSign the \u003ca href\u003d'http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/nonightflights/'\u003epetition against night flights\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7704314757429283640-7067422398495072207?l\u003dplanesoverhernebay.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/feeds/7067422398495072207/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/07/manstons-future-suggestion.html#comment-form","title":"37 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/7067422398495072207"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/7067422398495072207"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/07/manstons-future-suggestion.html","title":"Manston\u0026#39;s future: a suggestion"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Mr. Earplugs"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/16463279110551205241"},"email":{"$t":"PlanesOverHerneBay@gmail.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05803219300217260744"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SlGzA8tQETI/AAAAAAAAAQs/J3OsfKwyS5k/s72-c/SnagIt-2009-07-06+at+091437.png","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"37"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704314757429283640.post-7794927520931735000"},"published":{"$t":"2009-07-04T18:12:00.009+01:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-07-11T15:39:35.326+01:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"freight"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Fact-o-Matic"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Infratil"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"forecast"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Manston"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Fact-o-Matic: Freight"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cdiv xmlns\u003d\"http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml\"\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/Sk-KzRA5C-I/AAAAAAAAAQc/TaCxsfb99VE/s1600-h/SnagIt-2009-07-04+at+180044.png\" onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\"\u003e\u003cimg id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354651095311911906\" alt\u003d\"\" src\u003d\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/Sk-KzRA5C-I/AAAAAAAAAQc/TaCxsfb99VE/s200/SnagIt-2009-07-04+at+180044.png\" style\u003d\"margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 173px; height: 200px;\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003ePoliticians have many disgusting habits, and twisting the truth with statistics is one of their dumbest. The constant drizzle of deceits and half-truths that politicians rain down upon us has clouded some of the finest minds in the country, leading them to believe that cherry-picking a supportive fact from a sea of counter-arguments equates to a slam-dunk victory.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eIn the interests of stamping out this weak-mindedness, I will be presenting you with some unvarnished truths, from which you can draw your own conclusions. First out of the Fact-o-Matic machine is the low-down on freight, taken from the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid\u003d80\u0026amp;pagetype\u003d88\u0026amp;sglid\u003d3\u0026amp;fld\u003d2008Annual\"\u003eCAA figures\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eThe CAA's definition of freight is \u003cspan style\u003d\"font-style: italic;\"\u003e\"the weight of property carried on an aircraft including for example, the weight of vehicles, express baggage and diplomatic bags, but excluding mail and passengers' and crews' permitted baggage. Freight in transit through the airport on the same aircraft is excluded.\"\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003eFacts™\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan style\u003d\"font-style: italic;\"\u003e\"Don't know a little, know a lotto\"\u003c/span\u003e.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cul\u003e\u003cli\u003eFreight flights make up a very small proportion of the air traffic in and out of Manston.\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003eIn 2008 there were 19,269 flights at Manston, of which 412 (2%) were freight.\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e25,673 tonnes of freight were shifted in those 412 flights.\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e22,607 tonnes (88%) were imports - \"set down\".\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e3,066 tonnes (12%) were exports - \"pick up\".\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003eThose 25,673 tonnes put Manston 8th in the league table of British freight-carrying airports for 2008, with just over 1% of all freight carried (1.12%).\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003eInfratil's goal of 500,000 tonnes of freight would have placed it 2nd in the 2008 league table, between Heathrow (1.4m tonnes) and East Midlands (260,000 tonnes).\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ul\u003eHere's the monthly freight tonnage (and average) since the CAA started keeping track in January 1998:\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/Sk99wunys9I/AAAAAAAAAQM/TP2dCA7CAVE/s1600-h/SnagIt-2009-07-04+at+170152.png\" onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\"\u003e\u003cimg id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354636758068933586\" alt\u003d\"\" src\u003d\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/Sk99wunys9I/AAAAAAAAAQM/TP2dCA7CAVE/s400/SnagIt-2009-07-04+at+170152.png\" style\u003d\"margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 275px;\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003eZooming in on the last few years, here's the monthly freight tonnage (and average) since Infratil bought Manston in August 2005:\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/Sk9-EKGVaKI/AAAAAAAAAQU/POathx1fLWc/s1600-h/SnagIt-2009-07-04+at+170114.png\" onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\"\u003e\u003cimg id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5354637091862309026\" alt\u003d\"\" src\u003d\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/Sk9-EKGVaKI/AAAAAAAAAQU/POathx1fLWc/s400/SnagIt-2009-07-04+at+170114.png\" style\u003d\"margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 274px;\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003eRecent months clearly represent a year-on-year improvement over the previous year's trough.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003eFacts™\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan style\u003d\"font-style: italic;\"\u003e\"... because you're worth it.\"\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:verdana;\"\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003d\u003cbr /\u003e  Related posts:\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/07/fact-o-matic-freight.html\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/05/124-million-of-sorry.html\"\u003e$124 million of 'Sorry': Manston's criminal customers\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/03/nosey-picky.html\"\u003eNosey, picky: Infratil over-stating their freight figures\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/03/manston-update.html\"\u003eStansted 1, Manston 0: the BA World Cargo contract\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:verdana;\"\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003d\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eSign the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/nonightflights/\"\u003epetition against night flights\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7704314757429283640-7794927520931735000?l\u003dplanesoverhernebay.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/feeds/7794927520931735000/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/07/fact-o-matic-freight.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/7794927520931735000"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/7794927520931735000"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/07/fact-o-matic-freight.html","title":"Fact-o-Matic: Freight"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Mr. Earplugs"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/16463279110551205241"},"email":{"$t":"PlanesOverHerneBay@gmail.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05803219300217260744"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/Sk-KzRA5C-I/AAAAAAAAAQc/TaCxsfb99VE/s72-c/SnagIt-2009-07-04+at+180044.png","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704314757429283640.post-3673022993695143489"},"published":{"$t":"2009-06-28T14:28:00.017+01:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-07-11T15:30:25.346+01:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Standards Committee"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Paul Carter"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"KIACC"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Paul Carter. How dare you."},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003ca onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href\u003d\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SkdtCvyKpBI/AAAAAAAAAQE/6AF6sEBuqEc/s1600-h/SnagIt-2009-06-28+at+141530.png\"\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 159px;\" src\u003d\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SkdtCvyKpBI/AAAAAAAAAQE/6AF6sEBuqEc/s200/SnagIt-2009-06-28+at+141530.png\" alt\u003d\"\" id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352366576107168786\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003eCarter pulled out at the last minute due to a 're-arranged family event'. However, a message from his personal assistant seemed a less than courteous way to do this. \u003ca style\u003d\"font-style: italic;\" href\u003d\"http://marknottingham.blogspot.com/2009/06/paul-carter-reported-to-standards.html\"\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:85%;\"\u003eMark Nottingham's blog\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003eAn unnecessarily gentle \u003cspan class\u003d\"blsp-spelling-corrected\" id\u003d\"SPELLING_ERROR_0\"\u003eunderstatement\u003c/span\u003e there Mark. Try as I might, I cannot think of a pressing PRE-arranged family event that \u003cspan style\u003d\"font-style: italic;\"\u003ecan \u003c/span\u003ebe RE-arranged at a day's notice. Sounds very much like a 'dog ate my homework' excuse.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cul\u003e\u003cli\u003eThis meeting had been painstakingly and specifically arranged for Paul Carter's convenience, long in advance. \u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003eKIACC double-checked Carter's attendance with his office. Several times. \u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003eThen he pulls out, the day before.\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ul\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003eThat's \u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003eshabby\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003e.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eThe cry went up (in mitigation) that Paul Carter has a 'Private Life'. \u003cspan\u003eAnd he has a \u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003eSalary\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, and we are his \u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003eEmployers\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/span\u003ePaul Carter: selfish, slippery, salaried \u003ca href\u003d\"http://democracy.kent.gov.uk/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID\u003d197\"\u003eand contactable\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003d\u003cbr /\u003eRelated posts:\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/06/paul-carter-how-dare-you.html\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/06/hours-worth-of-minutes.html\"\u003eHours' worth of minutes: from the public meeting at Manston\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/05/love-letters-straight-from-heart.html\"\u003eLove letters straight from the heart: contacting your Councillors and MP\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/05/its-for-your-own-good-part-ii.html\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/05/its-for-your-own-good.html\"\u003eIt's for your own good: public meeting at Manston\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/04/telling-it-like-it-is.html\"\u003eTelling it like it is: to the Chair of the Transport Committee at Westminster\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/04/support-act.html\"\u003eSupport act: MP wrongly claims support for expansion\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/03/hb-amp.html\"\u003eBigger than politics: cross-party support in Herne Bay\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:verdana;\"\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003d\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eSign the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/nonightflights/\"\u003epetition against night flights\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7704314757429283640-3673022993695143489?l\u003dplanesoverhernebay.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/feeds/3673022993695143489/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/06/paul-carter-how-dare-you.html#comment-form","title":"1 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/3673022993695143489"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/3673022993695143489"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/06/paul-carter-how-dare-you.html","title":"Paul Carter. How dare you."}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Mr. Earplugs"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/16463279110551205241"},"email":{"$t":"PlanesOverHerneBay@gmail.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05803219300217260744"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SkdtCvyKpBI/AAAAAAAAAQE/6AF6sEBuqEc/s72-c/SnagIt-2009-06-28+at+141530.png","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"1"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704314757429283640.post-437395616208844555"},"published":{"$t":"2009-06-25T00:16:00.007+01:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-07-06T22:44:44.694+01:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Gatwick"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"petition"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Heathrow"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"night flights"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"MasterPlan"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Stansted"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Manston"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"As you asked so nicely"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003ca onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href\u003d\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SkKySinrtnI/AAAAAAAAAPs/lvlXzwQoUNE/s1600-h/SnagIt-2009-06-25+at+000911+Happy+Day.png\"\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 170px; height: 200px;\" src\u003d\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SkKySinrtnI/AAAAAAAAAPs/lvlXzwQoUNE/s200/SnagIt-2009-06-25+at+000911+Happy+Day.png\" alt\u003d\"\" id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5351035338870208114\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003eHere's a comment from Signatory 46 on the Petition Against Night Flights:\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cblockquote style\u003d\"font-style: italic;\"\u003eWhy are you people always against any development at Manston. Do you really believe that there would be 103,800 flights a year! Perhaps you should get back to the real world and consider the reality of the position of the airport compared to Gatwick, Heathrow or Stanstead which are not stuck out on a limb like Manston. If you are so against any development at Manston which as you know has been there for many years, you should have given this consideration before moving into the area knowing that the airport was there. Surely one must realise that airports generate aircraft (after all thats what they are there for). I would be pleased to see this published for people to read and maybe generate some common sense in this matter.\u003cbr /\u003eAnon 19/6/2009\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/blockquote\u003e\u003cul\u003e\u003cli\u003eWho are these \"you people\" that I am being swept up with?\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003eI'm not against \"any development\". This is a petition against night flights. End-of-life jumbo jets laden with vegetables roaring over Thanet Earth into the Garden of England in the small hours.\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003eAs stated in their Draft Master Plan, 103,800 flights a year is a commercial strategic goal for Infratil. Infratil pay their staff to deliver that strategy. Everyone at Manston will be working towards those numbers, because that's their job. Success \u003d 103,800 flights a year. Here in the real world, that's a very ambitious target, some might say unrealistic or unachievable. Nonetheless, it's worth reflecting on the implications.\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003eI have a clear picture of Manston's geography. Several, in fact. Obviously, it is well-placed to be a military airbase (being close to Europe) but poorly placed to be a commercial airport (being far from much of Britain). The significance of location, location, location has escaped every purchaser to date.\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003eI'm not against \"any development\". Still.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003eI know Manston has been there for years. In all the time that Manston has existed, there has \u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003enever \u003c/span\u003ebeen anything like the volume of traffic that Infratil are aiming for. \u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003eWe all understand about airports and aircraft, just as we all understand about roads and cars. What Infratil are proposing to do at Manston is like turning a residential street into a motorway. It's still a road. It's still got cars on it - 'that's what roads are for'. But you'll notice the difference if you live anywhere near it.\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ul\u003eI am happy to publish your comment, in the hope that common sense breaks out all over. \u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003eCommon Sense™\u003c/span\u003e - I just love the stuff! Can't get enough of it.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:verdana;\"\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003d\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eSign the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/nonightflights/\"\u003epetition against night flights\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7704314757429283640-437395616208844555?l\u003dplanesoverhernebay.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/feeds/437395616208844555/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/06/as-you-asked-so-nicely.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/437395616208844555"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/437395616208844555"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/06/as-you-asked-so-nicely.html","title":"As you asked so nicely"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Mr. Earplugs"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/16463279110551205241"},"email":{"$t":"PlanesOverHerneBay@gmail.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05803219300217260744"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SkKySinrtnI/AAAAAAAAAPs/lvlXzwQoUNE/s72-c/SnagIt-2009-06-25+at+000911+Happy+Day.png","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704314757429283640.post-6345599916048930957"},"published":{"$t":"2009-06-24T13:47:00.005+01:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-07-06T22:44:58.303+01:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"expansion"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Roger Gale MP"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Louise Ellman MP"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"TDC"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Julian Brazier MP"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Paul Carter"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Canterbury City Council"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Kent County Council"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Manston"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"To: Chair of the Transport Committee"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003ca onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href\u003d\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/Sj6tKHE8MnI/AAAAAAAAAPU/xxKBXa9eLWA/s1600-h/SnagIt-2009-06-21+at+225820+sedan+chair.png\"\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 193px;\" src\u003d\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/Sj6tKHE8MnI/AAAAAAAAAPU/xxKBXa9eLWA/s200/SnagIt-2009-06-21+at+225820+sedan+chair.png\" alt\u003d\"\" id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349903796572795506\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLetter to Louise Ellman MP (chair of the Transport Committee) April 2009:\u003c/span\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJulian Brazier has written to you claiming that there is widespread public support for more use to be made of Manston airport (Kent International Airport). There isn’t.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThanet County Council supports the airport and so does Kent County Council. Canterbury City Council, who represents a large constituency under the flight path, has significant concerns about the way in which the airport is regulated and monitored now, let alone what the impact might be were it to expand. The last public consultation about Manston was carried out by MORI in Thanet in 2005. Focus groups included those most affected by the flight path, i.e. Ramsgate residents. Of those:\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e67% opposed airport expansion;\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e78% thought noise and air pollution would be big problems;\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e90% wanted night flying hours to be restricted.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThanet District Council says more recent public consultation shows support for the airport. However, they have declined to release the report that would demonstrate this, even when requested to do so by the statutory body set up to lead consultation on Manston, i.e. the Kent International Airport Consultative Committee. Claims that there is widespread support can not be substantiated. Claims that there is widespread opposition can.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRoger Gale MP and Paul Carter (Leader of Kent County Council) are fond of saying that Manston has one of the longest runways in the UK (it hasn’t, thirteen other airports outstrip it) and that it is surrounded on three sides by sea so the impact on people is minimal. A quick look at the map will show you that the runway runs almost exactly East to West. Depending on the wind, planes come in on a straight line either over Ramsgate (pop. 39,600) or Herne Bay (pop. 35,200). That’s a lot of unhappy people on the flight path.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn a recent meeting of Herne Bay councillors, there was unanimous cross-party support for the proposal to get a more balanced debate going about the pros and cons of Manston and to prevent the impact of the airport on Herne Bay from getting worse. This agreement transcended the normal party political divide and can not in any way be described as support for Manston to expand. Local opposition is in response to a number of issues:\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eManston operates in an unregulated and unmonitored way, with sub standard noise monitoring; a willingness to allow unscheduled flights to land any time day or night; and an unwillingness to levy fines for planes that land outside the S.106 agreement because the Chief Executive does not want the airport to get a reputation as being “difficult”. I can substantiate all this with emails from the airport itself should you need to see more\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNeither Ramsgate nor Herne Bay is successful. They are both slightly shabby seaside towns whose most sustainable hope for a more prosperous future is tourism. Nobody will visit and spend money in a town or on a beach under a flight path\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eManston’s PR machine talks about the hundreds to thousands of jobs that will be created if the airport expands. Close inspection shows the vast majority of these jobs to be indirect jobs – jobs that already exist elsewhere in the UK which Manston will notionally be supporting by purchasing fuel etc. The number of real jobs that could be created is tiny. So, we have an airport whose growth plans will blight many lives whilst possibly creating a small number of jobs. As an economic decision about the best thing to do for an area, the airport makes no sense\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe airport is built right on top of an important aquifer. Whilst the Environment Agency has recognised how critical it is to preserve this aquifer (you will be aware that the South East is the UK area with the biggest mismatch between population size and available water), the airport’s owners have done nothing to ensure that the correct measures are in place to protect it from pollution. It is already contaminated and an expanded airport will worsen the situation considerably\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNone of the infrastructure exists to support expansion. A single carriageway road comes out of the airport and the nearest public transport is three miles’ drive away\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe airport has been in private ownership for years. Two previous owners have failed to make a go of it. Infratil are still losing money there after four years of ownership. It’s just not a sensible place to have an airport.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSo, there is no widespread local support for this airport. What you are hearing is the view of the few that have access to the media - MPs and the airport’s PR consultants. If you tap into the world to which ordinary members of the public have access - blogs; parish councils; local environmental groups – you will see massive opposition to the airport. I would love to see a more balanced debate on the airport’s future instead of being told by politicians who have not consulted the public that we all support the airport. Anything you can do to encourage this would be great.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:verdana;\"\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003d\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eSign the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/nonightflights/\"\u003epetition against night flights\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7704314757429283640-6345599916048930957?l\u003dplanesoverhernebay.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/feeds/6345599916048930957/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/06/to-chair-of-transport-committee.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/6345599916048930957"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/6345599916048930957"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/06/to-chair-of-transport-committee.html","title":"To: Chair of the Transport Committee"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Mr. Earplugs"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/16463279110551205241"},"email":{"$t":"PlanesOverHerneBay@gmail.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05803219300217260744"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/Sj6tKHE8MnI/AAAAAAAAAPU/xxKBXa9eLWA/s72-c/SnagIt-2009-06-21+at+225820+sedan+chair.png","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704314757429283640.post-639340602108097618"},"published":{"$t":"2009-06-22T07:07:00.013+01:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-07-06T22:45:24.797+01:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"TDC"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"night flights"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"fine"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Section 106"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"monitoring"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"MasterPlan"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Infratil"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"reporting"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"forecast"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Kent International Airport"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"In a nutshell"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003ca onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href\u003d\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/Sj8ebyX92WI/AAAAAAAAAPk/z-Tno8T5UOg/s1600-h/SnagIt-2009-06-21+at+235715+nutshell.png\"\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 157px;\" src\u003d\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/Sj8ebyX92WI/AAAAAAAAAPk/z-Tno8T5UOg/s200/SnagIt-2009-06-21+at+235715+nutshell.png\" alt\u003d\"\" id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350028345067034978\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cul\u003e\u003cli\u003eThe Draft Masterplan for KIA is indicative but insubstantial – it needs to be redrafted, and then put out to consultation properly.\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003eThe Section 106 Agreement should reflect the needs of everyone affected by the operation of the airport, not just Infratil and TDC.\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003eThere is absolutely no need or justification for night flights (other than emergency diversions).\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003eFlight paths should avoid population centres by overflying the sea, or sparsely populated land.\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003eIf overflying towns is unavoidable, the planes could fly higher for longer, and then descend more steeply.\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003eThese ‘people-friendly’ routes should be agreed and implemented before flight volumes increase.\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003eInfratil must demonstrate that the routes are being adhered to by recording and reporting what the planes actually do, by installing adequate noise and pollution monitoring equipment and ensuring it is used consistently.\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003eThe readings from all the monitoring equipment must be recorded consistently, and the recorded readings must be published frequently and regularly (e.g. on-line).\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003eFailure to comply with the S106 agreement must be reported and fined. Any decisions not to fine must be explained.\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ul\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:verdana;\"\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003d\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eSign the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/nonightflights/\"\u003epetition against night flights\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7704314757429283640-639340602108097618?l\u003dplanesoverhernebay.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/feeds/639340602108097618/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/06/in-nutshell.html#comment-form","title":"1 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/639340602108097618"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/639340602108097618"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/06/in-nutshell.html","title":"In a nutshell"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Mr. Earplugs"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/16463279110551205241"},"email":{"$t":"PlanesOverHerneBay@gmail.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05803219300217260744"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/Sj8ebyX92WI/AAAAAAAAAPk/z-Tno8T5UOg/s72-c/SnagIt-2009-06-21+at+235715+nutshell.png","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"1"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704314757429283640.post-7779363860431738977"},"published":{"$t":"2009-06-20T17:49:00.003+01:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-07-06T22:45:52.699+01:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Canterbury"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Whitstable"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ramsgate"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"freight"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"noise"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Herne Bay"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"KIACC"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Section 106"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"MasterPlan"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"forecast"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Kent International Airport"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"What's it all about? New readers start here."},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003ca onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href\u003d\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/Sjz6qnN9nUI/AAAAAAAAAPM/hQueVKByuDc/s1600-h/SnagIt-2009-05-07+at+001841+Manston+Badge.png\"\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 155px; height: 200px;\" src\u003d\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/Sjz6qnN9nUI/AAAAAAAAAPM/hQueVKByuDc/s200/SnagIt-2009-05-07+at+001841+Manston+Badge.png\" alt\u003d\"\" id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349426067398303042\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003eManston 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.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eThe 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.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eThere 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).\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eDue 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.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eA 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.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eTDC 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 \u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ethem\u003c/span\u003e.  We need to find a win-win-win solution.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eThis 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.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:verdana;\"\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003d\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eSign the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/nonightflights/\"\u003epetition against night flights\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7704314757429283640-7779363860431738977?l\u003dplanesoverhernebay.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/feeds/7779363860431738977/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/06/whats-it-all-about-new-readers-start.html#comment-form","title":"2 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/7779363860431738977"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/7779363860431738977"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/06/whats-it-all-about-new-readers-start.html","title":"What's it all about? New readers start here."}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Mr. Earplugs"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/16463279110551205241"},"email":{"$t":"PlanesOverHerneBay@gmail.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05803219300217260744"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/Sjz6qnN9nUI/AAAAAAAAAPM/hQueVKByuDc/s72-c/SnagIt-2009-05-07+at+001841+Manston+Badge.png","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"2"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704314757429283640.post-4406449876255549765"},"published":{"$t":"2009-06-13T23:55:00.014+01:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-07-11T18:01:31.033+01:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"8 hours"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"night flights"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"MasterPlan"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Infratil"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Numbing numbers"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cdiv xmlns\u003d\"http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml\"\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SjQxgbo10tI/AAAAAAAAAPE/FqciHFdwHyo/s1600-h/SnagIt-2009-06-14+at+000823.png\" onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" style\u003d\"font-family: verdana;\"\u003e\u003cimg id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346953090840253138\" alt\u003d\"\" src\u003d\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SjQxgbo10tI/AAAAAAAAAPE/FqciHFdwHyo/s200/SnagIt-2009-06-14+at+000823.png\" style\u003d\"margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 148px; height: 200px;\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003eInfratil's \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.kentinternationalairport-manston.com/index.html\"\u003eMaster Plan\u003c/a\u003e is a thought-provoking read. Pretty glum thoughts, many of them.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eIn 2008 they carried about 12,000 passengers and 25,000 tonnes of freight. They are aiming to grow to the point of carrying 6,000,000 passengers and 500,000 tonnes of freight. They are forecasting 103,800 flights per year.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eIf they are allowed night flights and fly round the clock, that amounts to \u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003eone flight every 5 minutes\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003e, day and night, all year\u003c/span\u003e.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003d\u003cbr /\u003eRelated posts:\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/06/numbing-numbers.html\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/06/petition-of-your-dreams.html\"\u003eThe Petition of your dreams: launch of the online petition\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/05/out-on-limbo.html\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/05/its-for-your-own-good-part-ii.html\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/04/before-i-die-of-rage.html\"\u003eBefore I die of rage: Infratil ignores residents\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/03/something-of-night.html\"\u003eSomething of the night: why night flights are bad\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003d\u003cbr /\u003eSign the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/nonightflights/\"\u003epetition against night flights\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr /\u003e.:.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7704314757429283640-4406449876255549765?l\u003dplanesoverhernebay.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/feeds/4406449876255549765/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/06/numbing-numbers.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/4406449876255549765"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/4406449876255549765"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/06/numbing-numbers.html","title":"Numbing numbers"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Mr. Earplugs"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/16463279110551205241"},"email":{"$t":"PlanesOverHerneBay@gmail.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05803219300217260744"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SjQxgbo10tI/AAAAAAAAAPE/FqciHFdwHyo/s72-c/SnagIt-2009-06-14+at+000823.png","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704314757429283640.post-3091996483792486710"},"published":{"$t":"2009-06-12T09:20:00.005+01:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-07-11T18:02:14.100+01:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"petition"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"night flights"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"The Petition of your dreams"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cdiv xmlns\u003d\"http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml\"\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SSQ4U0BZv6s/SjC3Q4kln5I/AAAAAAAAAFo/q33irVN8SPY/s1600-h/SnagIt-2009-06-11+at+085009.png\" onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\"\u003e\u003cimg id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345974258380414866\" alt\u003d\"\" src\u003d\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SSQ4U0BZv6s/SjC3Q4kln5I/AAAAAAAAAFo/q33irVN8SPY/s200/SnagIt-2009-06-11+at+085009.png\" style\u003d\"margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 158px;\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003eIt's New! It's Now! It's Online! For the greater good of everyone in East Kent and the wider world, I've set up an \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/nonightflights/\"\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ee-petition\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e against night flights at Manston. \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/nonightflights\"\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003eCLICK\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e to see the e-petition.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003ePlease tell more people about it: email them the link below:\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003ewww.ipetitions.com/petition/nonightflights\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eYou can still download the paper version of the petition if you prefer to have something you can sign with real ink. \u003ca href\u003d\"http://nonightflights.blogspot.com/\" style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003eCLICK\u003c/a\u003e for the paper petition, news and background.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eEveryone needs their kip: sign up to keep yours.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003d\u003cbr /\u003eRelated posts:\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/06/numbing-numbers.html\"\u003eNumbing numbers: there's going to be an awful lot of planes\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/05/out-on-limbo.html\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/03/something-of-night.html\"\u003eSomething of the night: why night flights are bad\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:verdana;\"\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003d\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eSign the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/nonightflights/\"\u003epetition against night flights\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e.:.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7704314757429283640-3091996483792486710?l\u003dplanesoverhernebay.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/feeds/3091996483792486710/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/06/petition-of-your-dreams.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/3091996483792486710"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/3091996483792486710"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/06/petition-of-your-dreams.html","title":"The Petition of your dreams"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Mr. Earplugs"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/16463279110551205241"},"email":{"$t":"PlanesOverHerneBay@gmail.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05803219300217260744"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SSQ4U0BZv6s/SjC3Q4kln5I/AAAAAAAAAFo/q33irVN8SPY/s72-c/SnagIt-2009-06-11+at+085009.png","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704314757429283640.post-8475644632121653184"},"published":{"$t":"2009-06-08T16:08:00.019+01:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-07-11T15:30:48.777+01:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ramsgate"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Paul Twyman"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"freight"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"TDC"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Herne Bay"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"fine"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"KIACC"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Section 106"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Infratil"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Kent International Airport"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Manston"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Cllr Harrison"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Matt Clarke"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"employment"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"complaints"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Brian White"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"MasterPlan"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Hours' worth of minutes"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ca onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href\u003d\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/Si0pkyya2UI/AAAAAAAAAO8/WIwAD0J4WfQ/s1600-h/SnagIt-2009-06-08+at+160754.png\"\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 161px; height: 200px;\" src\u003d\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/Si0pkyya2UI/AAAAAAAAAO8/WIwAD0J4WfQ/s200/SnagIt-2009-06-08+at+160754.png\" alt\u003d\"\" id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344974044843923778\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003eDear reader, this is how some of us frittered our lives. There's plenty to pick over here, all comments welcome.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003eI've added paragraph numbering for ease of reference \u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:85%;\" \u003eand some comments \u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e(original ver\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003esion on TDC's website \u003ca href\u003d\"http://tdc-mg-dmz.thanet.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?MId\u003d1703\u0026amp;\"\u003eHERE\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e). \u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003eCouncil Officer in charge of the AWP: \u003ca href\u003d\"mailto:Charles.Hungwe@thanet.gov.uk\"\u003eCharles Hungwe\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\";font-family:arial;font-size:130%;\"  \u003eTDC Airport Working Party, Tuesday, 19th May\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;\" \u003e1. Flight routes, including noise abatement routes\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e1.1. Over time, noise abatement routes seem to have disappeared. \u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);\"\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:85%;\"\u003eEvidently.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003eThere was need for transparency regarding noise abatement routes, which should be clearly defined.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e1.2. “Excuses”, which were often given by Airport Operator for non-adherence to proper routes (for example, captain on a training flight had given instruction to turn left instead of right) failed to satisfy residents.\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);\"\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:85%;\"\u003eUnderstatement.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e1.3. Planes taking off in a westerly direction were expected to take off 1.5 km from end of runway, and then make a turn towards Herne Bay and Birchington, achieving altitude over the sea. That, however, did not always happen. Instead, the aircraft would fly directly over the villages.\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);\"\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:85%;\"\u003eI think this should be: after take-off, 1.5km from end of runway, turn right to avoid HB \u0026amp; Birchington.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e1.4. Routes required to be revised, in order to minimise flying over sensitive areas and maximise the proportion of landing process which occurred over the sea.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e1.5. The possibility of planes turning closer to the Airport when landing, than was currently the case, should be investigated.\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);\"\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:85%;\"\u003eSee \u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/05/jfk-vs-kia.html\"\u003eLINK\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e1.6. Planes taking off in a westerly direction were known to turn left, instead of right.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e1.7. Originally, flight routes were not over the villages.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e1.8. There was need for a second radar, thereby enabling the capability to monitor whether or not aircraft were on track.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e1.9. It was explained by the Director of Regeneration that the noise abatement routes prescribed in the S.106 Agreement are adhered to by Infratil. Routes prepared by the previous Airport Owner had never been formally adopted and given legal standing.\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:85%;\" \u003eTDC failed to include them in the S106.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e1.10. Recognised routes for aircraft movements were generally felt to be a good thing.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;\" \u003e2. Noise factors and overflying\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e2.1. Low flights over Ramsgate were noisy and intrusive, even during the day. Funeral ceremonies had been known to come to a standstill because of overhead noise from aircraft.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e2.2. Infratil should be requested \u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:85%;\" \u003eobliged \u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003eto provide a list of its noise mitigation measures;\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e2.3. The old “747”s, which were used to carry freight, were particularly noisy;\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:85%;\" \u003eTrue.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e2.4. Owing to a large proportion of flights being freight, Manston Airport was much noisier than other airports;\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:85%;\" \u003eTrue.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e2.5. In some cases, take-offs did not appear to be steep enough. Consequently, overflying of area was longer than necessary;\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:85%;\" \u003eTrue.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e2.6. The public perception at Canterbury (where noise monitoring of aircraft was non-existent) was that planes were often flying very low;\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:85%;\" \u003eTrue.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e2.7. It could be beneficial to carry out a Survey in order to gauge opinions of residents, particularly those most affected by noise from aircraft.\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:85%;\" \u003eI honestly don't think a survey is necessary, other than to establish the scale of annoyance and anger.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e2.8. The majority of noise complaints concerned overflying, particularly over the villages.\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:85%;\" \u003eInevitably, given that they're nearest, but HB and Ramsgate cop it too.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;\" \u003e3. Noise Monitoring\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e3.1. Monitoring of noise could not be effective unless planes adhered to proper routes. On occasions, take off point was out of monitoring range;\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e3.2. \u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:85%;\" \u003eMUCH \u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003eMore use should be made of the mobile noise monitoring equipment that had been purchased by the Council. A headmaster of one of the schools under a flight path had welcomed the positioning of monitoring equipment on the roof of the school.\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:85%;\" \u003eI suggest hospices, rest and care homes, hospitals and schools should \u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003eall \u003c/span\u003ehave noise monitoring at some point. \u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e3.3. Without effective monitoring, noise levels could not be understood;\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:85%;\" \u003eNo. We all understand noise. Without effective monitoring, \u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:85%;\" \u003eInfratil can downplay\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:85%;\" \u003e noise pollution.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;\" \u003e4. Runway rotation\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e4.1. A proper discussion needed to take place on balancing number of take offs to the west (potentially, affecting the villages) and those to the east, affecting Ramsgate;\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e4.2. The direction of take-off was dependent on wind direction, and although the current 70/30 West to East ratio could be flexed, it rarely fell below 50/50;\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e4.3. If stipulated times and routes were adhered to, runway rotation would not be a big issue.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:85%;\" \u003e Exactly.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;\" \u003e5. Penalties, controls and enforcement\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e5.1. Some enforcement mechanism needed to remain in place \u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:85%;\" \u003eand be applied \u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003eso that those who did not keep to prescribed routes would be aware of consequential penalties;\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e5.2. Steeper penalties should be imposed to reflect the unacceptability of landings well outside of prescribed hours;\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:85%;\" \u003ethe existing escalating fines would be sufficient IF they were actually levied.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e5.3. The Airport Operator needed to provide assurance that sanctions were in place and were effective in preventing recurrences of deviations from proper flight paths;\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:85%;\" \u003eDon't want assurance; want evidence.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e5.4. The community should have confidence that any criteria laid down would be adhered to;\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e5.5. The current system of cumulative penalties was felt to be appropriate;\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e5.6. Allotment of penalties to a community fund should be continued;\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e5.7. If stringent constraints were imposed on noise, poorly maintained aircraft would be excluded from the Airport.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;\" \u003e6. Environmental Impact\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e6.1. It was necessary to draw up in detail measures that would minimise the environmental impact of the Airport and, at the same time, enable it to be operative effectively and safely;\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e6.2. The Council should keep abreast of EU environmental laws and also look at papers prepared by DOT (Department of Transport) regarding effects of noise disturbance at night;\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:85%;\" \u003eToo much to expect Infratil to take any responsibility for this.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e6.3. The problem of CO2 emissions were exacerbated by prolonged overflying of the area.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e6.4. (EU papers on air quality were passed at the meeting to the Chairman of the Working Party)\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;\" \u003e7. Night flying and shoulder periods\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e7.1. Night flying disturbed people’s sleep\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:85%;\" \u003eTrue.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e7.2. The issue of night landing permits should be looked at. The Department of Transport had reported that 181 night permits had been issued since 2006 for cargo flights from outside of Europe;\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e7.3. If night time landing was taking place without a permit, reasons should be established;\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:85%;\" \u003e and arses kicked.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e7.4. Night landings were, on occasions, caused by delays in departures of flights from Africa;\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e7.5. Take-off times from foreign destinations should be monitored;\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e7.6. Residents of Dover \u0026amp; Sandwich would be opposed to any relaxation of night-time flying;\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e7.7. In Acol, residents were generally comfortable about day-time noise, but found noise at night unacceptable;\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e7.8. In exceptional circumstances, non-scheduled night-time flying was permissible (for example, emergency, Government flights)\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:85%;\" \u003eI think everyone has always accepted this.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e7.9. A proper framework should be put in place to prevent the “nibbling effect” whereby shoulder periods became increasingly relaxed over a period of time.\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:85%;\" \u003eWe're alreday being 'nibbled' by the influx of non-scheduled night flights.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;\" \u003e8. Aborted night-time landings\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e8.1. Measures to penalise aborted landings, allegedly not confined to training exercises should be set in place and fully enforced.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;\" \u003e9. Updating of S.106 Agreement\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e9.1. The Director of Regeneration, Brian White said that there are no proposals to amend the S.106 Agreement. He explained that a successor document would be attached to the next significant planning approval at the Airport. The Masterplan would set the scene for subsequent development.\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:85%;\" \u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003eHang on a minute\u003c/span\u003e, is this what he said? I thought S106 was tied to the \u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003eusage \u003c/span\u003eof the facility, not specific planning applications. Can anyone give me chapter and verse on this?\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;\" \u003e10. Need for greater consultation\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e10.1. There was a fundamental problem with training flights in that some rules (e.g. time lapse between landing and subsequent take-off) had been removed without consultation with the local community;\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:85%;\" \u003eDisgracefully.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e10.2. TDC \u0026amp; KIACC should be notified of any procedural changes;\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:85%;\" \u003eTrue.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e10.3. Civil Aviation Notices were inadequately publicised or informative – the community required greater detail;\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:85%;\" \u003eTrue.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e10.4. The introduction of changes without consultation had engendered a feeling of mistrust on the part of residents.\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:85%;\" \u003eTrue.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;\" \u003e11. Complaints Handling\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e11.1. Complaints to Infratil regarding early morning freight flights had not appeared to have been taken seriously;\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e11.2. Infratil should be required to respond to complaints within a certain length of time, say, 20-30 days, just like complainants, who had to make their complaint within 15 days of time of incident;\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e11.3. The whole of complaints system needed to be reviewed – Infratil’s current system was unreliable;\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:85%;\" \u003e\"Evasive\" is my word of choice.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e11.4. Infratil’s website was not always accessible;\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e11.5. There was a measure of duplication between complaints to Infratil and those to the Council. Brian White said that complaints made directly to the Council were received by the Council’s Environmental Health service;\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e11.6. It seemed desirable to have a shared website between Infratil and the Council for the purpose of capturing all complaints;\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:85%;\" \u003eIf EITHER of them was adequate, it would be a leap forward.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e11.7. The Chairman of the Airport Working Party, Councillor Harrison said that all the airports (with the exception of Bournemouth) which had been visited by the Working Party, dealt with complaints directly.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;\" \u003e12. Social and economic benefits of night time flying\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e12.1. Job benefits as outlined in the Masterplan seemed unrealistically high;\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:85%;\" \u003eTrue.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e12.2. The geography of the area did not lend itself to a significant enhancement of jobs;\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:85%;\" \u003eTrue.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e12.3. In itself, an increase in night time operations would not impact on job creation;\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:85%;\" \u003eTrue.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e12.4. The Council should provide an analysis of perceived benefits of night-time flying;\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:85%;\" \u003eNo. Surely this is Infratil's responsibility?\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e12.5. Without some night flights, the Airport might be unsustainable;\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:85%;\" \u003eNo. The airport should operate more profitably within the existing S106.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e12.6. The Council needed to be robust in challenging employment figures associated with night-time flying;\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e12.7. Increased air traffic could have “knock-on” benefits for tourism;\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:85%;\" \u003eHow?\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e12.8. Residents would probably accept an occasional night-time flight if overall benefits of the Airport were obvious.\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:85%;\" \u003eQuantify 'occasional' and then ask them.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e12.9. Emergency flights were always to be considered separately.\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:85%;\" \u003eTrue.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;\" \u003e13. Support for expansion\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e13.1. Monkton Parish Council was supportive of the Airport and hoped for development and creation of jobs. The operation must, however, be well controlled;\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e13.2. Canterbury supported the airport expansion, but only in a way that did not impact harshly on the community;\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e13.3. The airport presently operated at a loss. It should be provided with adequate scope to function in a commercial world.\u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan style\u003d\"color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:85%;\" \u003eThe 'scope' is called the free market economy.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003eAt this juncture, the Chairman of the Working Party drew the meeting to a conclusion, by re-iterating a statement that the Airport should be allowed to become a successful commercial venture, but not at any price.\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cp face\u003d\"arial\"\u003eThe Chairman also stated that an opportunity would be given to the public to express their views as part of a consultation exercise, if and when an application was received by the Council in relation to night-time flying.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp style\u003d\"font-family: arial;\"\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003d\u003cbr /\u003eRelated posts:\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/06/paul-carter-how-dare-you.html\"\u003ePaul Carter. How dare you: conspicuous by his absence\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/06/hours-worth-of-minutes.html\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/05/love-letters-straight-from-heart.html\"\u003eLove letters straight from the heart: contacting your Councillors and MP\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/05/its-for-your-own-good-part-ii.html\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/05/its-for-your-own-good.html\"\u003eIt's for your own good: public meeting at Manston\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/04/telling-it-like-it-is.html\"\u003eTelling it like it is: to the Chair of the Transport Committee at Westminster\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/04/support-act.html\"\u003eSupport act: MP wrongly claims support for expansion\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/03/hb-amp.html\"\u003eBigger than politics: cross-party support in Herne Bay\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003d\u003cbr /\u003eSign the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/nonightflights/\"\u003epetition against night flights\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr /\u003e.:.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7704314757429283640-8475644632121653184?l\u003dplanesoverhernebay.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/feeds/8475644632121653184/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/06/hours-worth-of-minutes.html#comment-form","title":"2 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/8475644632121653184"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/8475644632121653184"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/06/hours-worth-of-minutes.html","title":"Hours' worth of minutes"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Mr. Earplugs"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/16463279110551205241"},"email":{"$t":"PlanesOverHerneBay@gmail.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05803219300217260744"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/Si0pkyya2UI/AAAAAAAAAO8/WIwAD0J4WfQ/s72-c/SnagIt-2009-06-08+at+160754.png","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"2"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704314757429283640.post-7528632552834246835"},"published":{"$t":"2009-06-07T01:21:00.013+01:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-07-06T22:52:55.765+01:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Ramsgate"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"peace and quiet"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"There's worse places than Ramsgate"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ca onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href\u003d\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SisIL2OyWLI/AAAAAAAAAO0/oLYzWFuQKcQ/s1600-h/SnagIt-2009-06-07+at+010947.png\"\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 161px; height: 200px;\" src\u003d\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SisIL2OyWLI/AAAAAAAAAO0/oLYzWFuQKcQ/s200/SnagIt-2009-06-07+at+010947.png\" alt\u003d\"\" id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344374382434343090\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003eIt is often said that there's always someone worse off than yourself, and sometimes it's worth tracking them down and having a good laugh, just to cheer yourself up.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMaho Beach on the island of St Marteen in the Caribbean Dutch Antilles has all the standard ingredients: sun, sand, sea, semi-naked people. However, it also has a rather special extra something - an airport nearby. \u003cstrong\u003eVery\u003c/strong\u003e nearby.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eInstead of the more familiar signs warning of sunburn or jellyfish, they have these:\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 210px;\" src\u003d\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SisG5NgGS8I/AAAAAAAAAOs/DVMMI2YC3OA/s320/SnagIt-2009-06-07+at+011605.png\" alt\u003d\"\" id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344372962751826882\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd they're not kidding:\u003c/p\u003e\u003cobject height\u003d\"344\" width\u003d\"425\"\u003e\u003cembed src\u003d\"http://www.youtube.com/v/WTLGsEErWJY\u0026amp;color1\u003d0xb1b1b1\u0026amp;color2\u003d0xcfcfcf\u0026amp;hl\u003den\u0026amp;feature\u003dplayer_embedded\u0026amp;fs\u003d1\" type\u003d\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" allowfullscreen\u003d\"true\" height\u003d\"344\" width\u003d\"425\"\u003e\u003c/embed\u003e\u003c/object\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:arial;\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cobject height\u003d\"344\" width\u003d\"425\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cembed src\u003d\"http://www.youtube.com/v/ZIQUo5Si_WA\u0026amp;color1\u003d0xb1b1b1\u0026amp;color2\u003d0xcfcfcf\u0026amp;hl\u003den\u0026amp;feature\u003dplayer_embedded\u0026amp;fs\u003d1\" type\u003d\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" allowfullscreen\u003d\"true\" height\u003d\"344\" width\u003d\"425\"\u003e\u003c/embed\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/object\u003e\u003cp\u003eMore pictures, videos and other holiday destinations at \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.vacationideas.me/caribbean/maho-beach-st-marteen-planes-landing-head/\"\u003eVacation Ideas\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003d\u003cbr /\u003eSign the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/nonightflights/\"\u003epetition against night flights\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr /\u003e.:.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7704314757429283640-7528632552834246835?l\u003dplanesoverhernebay.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/feeds/7528632552834246835/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/06/theres-worse-places-than-ramsgate.html#comment-form","title":"1 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/7528632552834246835"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/7528632552834246835"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/06/theres-worse-places-than-ramsgate.html","title":"There's worse places than Ramsgate"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Mr. Earplugs"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/16463279110551205241"},"email":{"$t":"PlanesOverHerneBay@gmail.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05803219300217260744"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SisIL2OyWLI/AAAAAAAAAO0/oLYzWFuQKcQ/s72-c/SnagIt-2009-06-07+at+010947.png","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"1"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704314757429283640.post-3696887399471391705"},"published":{"$t":"2009-06-05T00:08:00.006+01:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-07-11T17:55:35.194+01:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"sale"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Infratil"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Kent International Airport"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"After the fact"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003ca onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href\u003d\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SihT79dCndI/AAAAAAAAAOc/z8AtNNxxWyg/s1600-h/SnagIt-2009-06-04+at+234636.png\"\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 161px; height: 200px;\" src\u003d\"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SihT79dCndI/AAAAAAAAAOc/z8AtNNxxWyg/s200/SnagIt-2009-06-04+at+234636.png\" alt\u003d\"\" id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343613247448849874\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003eThe stridently sane blogger Stop The Loonies (who is snarky about \"anons\" but keeps his/her/their/its identity secret) has posted \u003ca href\u003d\"http://startmanstonexpansiongroup.blogspot.com/2009/06/infratil-selling-up-i-dont-think-so.html\"\u003esomething\u003c/a\u003e that aroused my curiosity.\u003cp\u003eSTL quotes Infratil's CEO as saying that they're committed to KIA and have no plans to sell it - this runs contrary to all his other recent quotes, including those I reported on a couple of weeks ago. I quoted from thisiskent.co.uk in \u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/05/new-zealand-sacrificial-lamb-steaks.html\" rel\u003d\"nofollow\"\u003emy posting\u003c/a\u003e on 22nd May, leaving out only the (then) last paragraph about PlaneStation going bust in August 2005.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/ramsgate/Manston-airport-sale-ruled/article-1016038-detail/article.html\" rel\u003d\"nofollow\"\u003ethisiskent.co.uk article\u003c/a\u003e I quoted from now has \u003cstrong\u003ethree new paragraphs\u003c/strong\u003e at the end, which are what STL quotes. These paragraphs were not in the original article, and appear to contradict the gist of the rest of the article. They are not in the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/2421519/Asset-sales-likely-as-Infratil-posts-loss\" rel\u003d\"nofollow\"\u003ewww.stuff.co.nz\u003c/a\u003e article that was the original source, they are not on the Infratil website, and a quick Google search doesn't find them quoted anywhere else.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHow can this be? It looks as if these words appeared out of thin air and were airbrushed into the thisiskent article after publication. Puzzling. Suggestions?\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003d\u003cbr /\u003eRelated posts:\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/06/after-fact.html\" class\u003d\"listlink\" target\u003d\"_new\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/05/new-zealand-sacrificial-lamb-steaks.html\" class\u003d\"listlink\" target\u003d\"_new\"\u003eNew Zealand sacrificial lamb steaks: Manston's uncertain future\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/05/124-million-of-sorry.html\" class\u003d\"listlink\" target\u003d\"_new\"\u003e$124 million of 'Sorry': Manston's criminal customers\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/05/seppuku-lite.html\" class\u003d\"listlink\" target\u003d\"_new\"\u003eSeppuku Lite: Infratil's business model is corporate suicide\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/04/no-quarter.html\" class\u003d\"listlink\" target\u003d\"_new\"\u003eNo quarter? Manston's doom: Infratil selling off assets to meet debt\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/04/controlled-descent.html\" class\u003d\"listlink\" target\u003d\"_new\"\u003eControlled descent: Manston's uncertain future with Infratil\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:verdana;\"\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003d\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eSign the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/nonightflights/\"\u003epetition against night flights\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr /\u003e.:.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7704314757429283640-3696887399471391705?l\u003dplanesoverhernebay.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/feeds/3696887399471391705/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/06/after-fact.html#comment-form","title":"9 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/3696887399471391705"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/3696887399471391705"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/06/after-fact.html","title":"After the fact"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Mr. Earplugs"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/16463279110551205241"},"email":{"$t":"PlanesOverHerneBay@gmail.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05803219300217260744"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SihT79dCndI/AAAAAAAAAOc/z8AtNNxxWyg/s72-c/SnagIt-2009-06-04+at+234636.png","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"9"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704314757429283640.post-7065262862497576044"},"published":{"$t":"2009-06-04T10:57:00.005+01:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-07-06T22:59:28.319+01:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"KIACC"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Kent International Airport"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Manston"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Poster boy"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003ca onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href\u003d\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SieaknZ9a4I/AAAAAAAAAOM/-AA6hVKivOM/s1600-h/SnagIt-2009-06-04+at+103010.png\"\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 161px; height: 200px;\" src\u003d\"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SieaknZ9a4I/AAAAAAAAAOM/-AA6hVKivOM/s200/SnagIt-2009-06-04+at+103010.png\" alt\u003d\"\" id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343409436742216578\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003eYet another selfless public service: here's a copy of the 'poster' for the next KIACC meeting. Print one off and pin it on a politician.\u003cp\u003eClick \u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.googlegroups.com/web/KIACC+poster.doc?gda\u003dinAzq0IAAAA6rZvxSCn9Gf5u8CKODPFvN_u3Sf1GFWYGzdg2hxx6m5sTxLEC54s6H0OA5tKaiAdV4u3aa4iAIyYQIqbG9naPgh6o8ccLBvP6Chud5KMzIQ\u0026amp;gsc\u003dVOqKSgsAAAAV6TXBhrZ4SW5LYJkCXCpC\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHERE\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/a\u003e for the poster.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSign the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/nonightflights/\"\u003epetition against night flights\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr /\u003e.:.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7704314757429283640-7065262862497576044?l\u003dplanesoverhernebay.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/feeds/7065262862497576044/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/06/poster-boy.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/7065262862497576044"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/7065262862497576044"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/06/poster-boy.html","title":"Poster boy"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Mr. Earplugs"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/16463279110551205241"},"email":{"$t":"PlanesOverHerneBay@gmail.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05803219300217260744"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SieaknZ9a4I/AAAAAAAAAOM/-AA6hVKivOM/s72-c/SnagIt-2009-06-04+at+103010.png","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704314757429283640.post-2883904926417751094"},"published":{"$t":"2009-06-03T10:13:00.018+01:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-07-06T23:04:16.021+01:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"the hard of thinking"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Think like an idiot"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003ca onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href\u003d\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SiY_bpXjgeI/AAAAAAAAAN0/yVz5pnnJk0s/s1600-h/03-06-2009+10-15-37+Dunce.png\"\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 160px; height: 200px;\" src\u003d\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SiY_bpXjgeI/AAAAAAAAAN0/yVz5pnnJk0s/s200/03-06-2009+10-15-37+Dunce.png\" alt\u003d\"\" id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343027752115339746\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003eDear reader, I know thinking like an idiot is not one of your natural strengths, but I thought it would be helpful for you to see the world through different eyes. Dull, unfocussed, short-sighted eyes that see only a small part of whole. When you have read the article at the link below, it will be \u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003emuch\u003c/span\u003e easier for you to understand the dafter comments on this and other blogs.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cdiv style\u003d\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.theonion.com/content/opinion/oh_no_its_making_well_reasoned\"\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eOh, no! It's making well-reasoned arguments backed with facts! Run!\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-family:verdana;\"\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003d\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eSign the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/nonightflights/\"\u003epetition against night flights\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr /\u003e.:.\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7704314757429283640-2883904926417751094?l\u003dplanesoverhernebay.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/feeds/2883904926417751094/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/06/think-like-idiot.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/2883904926417751094"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/2883904926417751094"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/06/think-like-idiot.html","title":"Think like an idiot"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Mr. Earplugs"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/16463279110551205241"},"email":{"$t":"PlanesOverHerneBay@gmail.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05803219300217260744"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SiY_bpXjgeI/AAAAAAAAAN0/yVz5pnnJk0s/s72-c/03-06-2009+10-15-37+Dunce.png","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704314757429283640.post-3760171195149764110"},"published":{"$t":"2009-06-03T00:13:00.012+01:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-07-11T17:32:45.061+01:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"employment"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"forecast"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Kent International Airport"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Thrice woe!"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003ca onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href\u003d\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SiWyDLXCb4I/AAAAAAAAANk/nLMc3hBjqsc/s1600-h/02-06-2009+23-36-44+Downcast.png\"\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 161px; height: 200px;\" src\u003d\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SiWyDLXCb4I/AAAAAAAAANk/nLMc3hBjqsc/s200/02-06-2009+23-36-44+Downcast.png\" alt\u003d\"\" id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342872300603731842\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003eOh dear. Just when you thought things couldn't get any worse for Manston. BAWC \u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/03/manston-update.html\"\u003eslips through their fingers\u003c/a\u003e, dashing their hopes for significant cargo growth. Infratil announce they're so weary of this blood-sucking drain on finances that they'll \u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/05/new-zealand-sacrificial-lamb-steaks.html\"\u003esell a stake\u003c/a\u003e to anyone with a mallet. And now a gently damning snippet from one of the air transport industry websites, looking at employment prospects at Manston. They could so easily have been talking about the whole sad airport.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003eOpen question: has anyone heard of so much as a hint of a Plan B for Manston from TDC?\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 358px; height: 400px;\" src\u003d\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SiWyLDVDYrI/AAAAAAAAANs/nXQ6ez0OqgE/s400/02-06-2009+17-39-06+Cruel+truth.png\" alt\u003d\"\" id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342872435886875314\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003d\u003cbr /\u003eRelated posts:\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/06/thrice-woe.html\" style\u003d\"color: rgb(0, 51, 102);\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/05/regen-park.html\" style\u003d\"color: rgb(0, 51, 102);\"\u003eRegen Park: there are better ways of regenerating Thanet\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/05/its-for-your-own-good-part-ii.html\" style\u003d\"color: rgb(0, 51, 102);\"\u003eIt's for your own good, Part II: key issues for the meeting, and beyond\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/03/ha-ha-ha-ha-oh.html\" style\u003d\"color: rgb(0, 51, 102);\"\u003eHa, ha, ha, ha... Oh: Infratil's over-optimistic job forecasts\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/03/airport-expansion-costs-jobs.html\" style\u003d\"color: rgb(0, 51, 102);\"\u003eAirport expansion COSTS jobs: so says an independent study\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003d\u003cbr /\u003eSign the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/nonightflights/\"\u003epetition against night flights\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr /\u003e.:.\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7704314757429283640-3760171195149764110?l\u003dplanesoverhernebay.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/feeds/3760171195149764110/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/06/thrice-woe.html#comment-form","title":"0 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/3760171195149764110"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/3760171195149764110"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/06/thrice-woe.html","title":"Thrice woe!"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Mr. Earplugs"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/16463279110551205241"},"email":{"$t":"PlanesOverHerneBay@gmail.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05803219300217260744"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/SiWyDLXCb4I/AAAAAAAAANk/nLMc3hBjqsc/s72-c/02-06-2009+23-36-44+Downcast.png","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"0"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704314757429283640.post-8131632750048399835"},"published":{"$t":"2009-05-28T23:40:00.011+01:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2009-07-11T15:31:11.892+01:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"petition"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"8 hours"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"night flights"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Infratil"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Thanet District Council"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Manston"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Love letters straight from the heart"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003ca onblur\u003d\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href\u003d\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/Sh8S_kBigeI/AAAAAAAAANE/-liIqYTOZa4/s1600-h/SnagIt-2009-05-28+at+230934+Voodoo+love.png\"\u003e\u003cimg style\u003d\"margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 161px; height: 200px;\" src\u003d\"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/Sh8S_kBigeI/AAAAAAAAANE/-liIqYTOZa4/s200/SnagIt-2009-05-28+at+230934+Voodoo+love.png\" alt\u003d\"\" id\u003d\"BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341008566295888354\" border\u003d\"0\" /\u003e\u003c/a\u003eThe nice people at \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.airportwatch.org.uk/index.php\"\u003eAirport Watch\u003c/a\u003e have introduced me to a cracking little site called \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.writetothem.com/\"\u003eWriteToThem\u003c/a\u003e. Just bash in your post code, and you get instant email links to \u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003eall\u003c/span\u003e your District and County Councillors, MP, and MEPs. This makes it a doddle to congratulate your elected representatives on the skill and wisdom of their approach to \u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003eanything\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003e...\u003c/span\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eNoise pollution, an ever-growing sound footprint, air pollution, constantly circling training flights, aquifer contamination, increased use of fossil fuels, greenhouse gas emissions, failing to meet Kyoto targets, climate change acceleration, rising sea levels, disrupted school lessons, sleeplessness-induced hypertension, reduced quality of life, falling property prices, reduction in tourism, loss of jobs in the hospitality industries, increase in HGV road traffic, damage to local democracy, unseemly influence of trans-national businesses, inappropriate use of public funds, sub-standard monitoring, inadequate fines, unrealistic forecasts, broken promises, rushed and begrudging consultation...\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003eOr you might not be writing about Manston.\u003cbr /\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003d\u003cbr /\u003eRelated posts:\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/06/paul-carter-how-dare-you.html\"\u003ePaul Carter. How dare you: conspicuous by his absence\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/06/hours-worth-of-minutes.html\"\u003eHours' worth of minutes: from the public meeting at Manston\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/05/its-for-your-own-good-part-ii.html\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/05/its-for-your-own-good.html\"\u003eIt's for your own good: public meeting at Manston\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/04/telling-it-like-it-is.html\"\u003eTelling it like it is: to the Chair of the Transport Committee at Westminster\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/04/support-act.html\"\u003eSupport act: MP wrongly claims support for expansion\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003ca href\u003d\"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/03/hb-amp.html\"\u003eBigger than politics: cross-party support in Herne Bay\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr /\u003e\u003d\u003d\u003d\u003cbr /\u003eSign the \u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/nonightflights/\"\u003epetition against night flights\u003c/a\u003e.\u003cbr /\u003e.:.\u003cdiv class\u003d\"blogger-post-footer\"\u003e\u003cimg width\u003d'1' height\u003d'1' src\u003d'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7704314757429283640-8131632750048399835?l\u003dplanesoverhernebay.blogspot.com' alt\u003d'' /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/feeds/8131632750048399835/comments/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/05/love-letters-straight-from-heart.html#comment-form","title":"3 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/8131632750048399835"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7704314757429283640/posts/default/8131632750048399835"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http://planesoverhernebay.blogspot.com/2009/05/love-letters-straight-from-heart.html","title":"Love letters straight from the heart"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Mr. Earplugs"},"uri":{"$t":"http://www.blogger.com/profile/16463279110551205241"},"email":{"$t":"PlanesOverHerneBay@gmail.com"},"gd$extendedProperty":{"xmlns$gd":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005","name":"OpenSocialUserId","value":"05803219300217260744"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_8JCyAHbyInU/Sh8S_kBigeI/AAAAAAAAANE/-liIqYTOZa4/s72-c/SnagIt-2009-05-28+at+230934+Voodoo+love.png","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"xmlns$thr":"http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0","$t":"3"}}]}});