| TAKING
YOUR VIEWS FORWARD |
| Runway use, night time flying, air
pollution, early morning flights, public understanding of the 106
Agreement and current and future plans for Kent International Airport are
some of the key issues raised by the public during the recent Council
consultation on the 106 Agreement for the Airport.
The results of the three month consultation, carried out during the
spring, have just been published and will be considered by Members at a
meeting of Full Council next week (Thursday 21 July).
The public consultation consisted of a number of different strands. This
included:
- Public meetings in Margate, Broadstairs, Ramsgate and the parishes
of Manston, Acol, Minster, Monkton, Cliffsend and St. Nicholas and at
Sturry and Herne Bay, both of which are within the Canterbury
District.
- A roadshow, which visited 13 locations during the day, evening and
weekend
- Engagement of MORI to produce the consultation questionnaire,
conduct a telephone interview with 500 people and conduct stakeholder
interviews.
- Establishment of a website about the Section 106 agreement and
- Radio and newspaper campaigns to help raise awareness.
Following this, a number of different issues have emerged, which need
to be accounted for in the successor 106 Agreement, which will be
developed over the next few months with the airport owner Planestation.
These issues are:
- Concerns about noise, which is a particular problem for those living
under the flight path.
- Opposition to night-time flying, which was expressed at public
meetings.
- Off-route aircraft.
- The use of runways and why the direction of arrivals and departures
changes.
- Low public understanding of 'humanitarian / emergency flights'.
- Environmental Impact Assessment not applied by the Planning
Authority.
- Inappropriate penalties.
- Air pollution.
- Perception that cargo flights will increase in the future.
- Disturbance from early morning flights between 06.00 and 07.00
- Inadequate noise monitoring.
Other concerns raised by members of the public included a low
understanding of the Section 106 Agreement and what it does, something
which was addressed at each of the public meetings held by the Council
during the consultation process. People were also able to find out
more information about a 106 Agreement in the consultation
questionnaire, on the website and at the roadshow.
Issues for airport owners PlaneStation to consider include comments
from people that they had a low awareness of the current and future
plans for the Airport and that the complaints handling was poor.
Council Leader, Cllr. Sandy Ezekiel, said: "People have taken the
opportunity to put their views forward on this issue and some clear
messages have emerged. We will be taking those into consideration as work
gets underway on developing the successor 106 Agreement. We know that we
need to provide better information to the public about the 106 Agreement
and that noise monitoring needs to be improved. We appreciate that the
issue of night flights is one which particularly affects those under the
flight path and we will be looking very carefully at the statistics from
this summer's night flights.
Equally the public has sent a firm message to the airport owners
PlaneStation that they want to know more about the future plans for the
airport and what that will mean for local people. The public have spoken
they want to be kept fully informed about the airport's development and
growth.
The successor 106 Agreement needs to maintain people's quality of life as
far as is possible. We will be using the feedback from the public
consultation to ensure that this happens and I am sure that all Members
will welcome the extensive information that has come back from the public
consultation."
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PEOPLE MUST BE TOLD MORE,
AIRPORT AGREEMENT POLL FINDS
Isle of Thanet Gazette 15th July 2005
Manston survey findings
revealed
ANOTHER chapter in Manston airport's his- tory starts next
week as the views of isle people help form the new rules which will govern its
operation.
For three months Thanet council has gathered opinions through telephone
surveys with research company Mort, road show buses, and public meetings.
This week those results r were released for the first , time, in what the local
authority claims is the most comprehensive survey ever carried out on the
isle.
Its aim was to find what local people think needs to be considered when a new
Section 106 agreement between the airport and the council is signed.
The consultation found, according to the report, 14 "broad issues"
over the airport's future.
The document also outlines how to tackle the issues. They are:
- Understanding of the agreement is limited - regular public
updates of what is going on should be made
- Awareness of potential airport expansion is low -
PlaneStation should make its plans clear
- Noise is likely to be a problem to those under the flight
path - monitoring should be increased
- There should be improved monitoring and logging of aircraft
movements at night -
- The airport must have a programme for installation of
ground radar and logging of movements
- Concern over runway use -wider reporting and explanation of
runway use is needed
- Poor public understanding of "humanitarian and
emergency flights.. clearer definitions needed
- Environmental impact assessment not applied by planning
authority -specific triggers must be set within the airport's expansion
programme for an EIA to be made
- Penalties inappropriate -they must be reviewed against past
cases
- Air pollution -improve reporting and maintain monitoring
- There is a perception cargo flights will increase pollution
and noise -more specific growth plans made by PlaneStation
- Poor handling of com- plaints -clarify role of local
authority and make explicit procedure for han- dling complaints
- Flights between 6am and 7am are causing disturbance -to be
included in night-time flying review
- Noise monitoring has been inadequate -expand use of
monitoring equipment.
Section 106 Agreement - a guide.
THE Section 106 agreement began in 2000
and set out the terms under which then owners Wiggins could operate planes. It
expired in 2003, but the terms were adhered to by new owners PlaneStation
through goodwill. Breaking those terms, which include when planes are allowed to
fly; is punishable by fines.
The total fine is more than £30.000. The new agreement will go before the
council next week.
Council leader Sandy Ezekiel said: "This is not the final decision. It is
the beginning of negotiations. We won't get everything we want -but then the
airport won't get everything they want, This is a voluntary agreement,"
How the Report was
produced
THE report is based on feedback from
Mori's 500 telephone surveys and ro stake- holder interviews, as well as public
meetings across Thanet.
A coach visited 13 locations with information, which was also provided by a
website, radio and newspaper campaign.
Path to New Agreement
- APRIL: Six-month night flying policy
agreed
- MAY TO JULY: Public consultations,
- SEPTEMBER TO DECEMBER. Negotiation
with airport
- OCTOBER: Six-month night policy
reviewed
- DECEMBER: A new agreement will be
signed
Groups chance to air it's views
RESULTS of the Mori poll and feedback
from public meetings will be discussed by Thanet council on Thursday.
Thanet council chief executive Richard Samuel said: "I think Mori has done
a very good job. It is probably the most comprehensive survey ever
undertaken by Thanet council.
"The airport will not become as large as Gatwick or Heathrow. We are
looking at something like Southampton."
The report includes responses from the Campaign to Protect Rural England
and the Manston Airport Group (Mag), which has submitted its version of the
agreement. Group chairman David Britton said: "Night flights is one of the
main concerns, as is the fact the airport may cause more pollution.
"We have suggested the fines be increase to £5,000 -for the operator of
the planes, not the plane itself. The important thing is to reach an
agreement where people's lives are not affected."
CPRE stressed a need for adequate noise monitoring, a concern for the
effectiveness of the agreement being followed by the airport, and worries
expansion would cause an increase in road traffic and pollution.
A full council meeting in December will finalise the agreement.
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