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LEGAL
APPEAL
Dear Fellow Resident,
The development of Manston Airport has been progressing slowly for more than
a year now. On the face of it little has altered, but you should be aware that
behind the scenes significant changes are taking place, which could have serious
consequences for all of us. Our primary aims are to make sure that all local
people are adequately informed of the issues about Manston, and are properly
considered in the decision-making process. We do not believe that the local
Council is meeting either of these objectives.
THE COUNCIL'S VISION
The Council have produced a document entitled their "Vision." This
document forms the basis for the new local plan.
It forecasts that Manston will handle 10million passengers a year within 10
years. This will make Manston busier than Stansted.
Stansted requires 200,000 aircraft movements (take-offs or landings) each
year to handle this number of passengers. This equates to an aircraft taking
off or landing every 3 minutes, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Thanet District Council have no intention of trying to limit the size of
the airport. On the contrary, they are actively encouraging unlimited
expansion. The scale of intended expansion is far bigger than anyone, even
Wiggins, had originally envisaged and is not consistent with the Kent
Structure Plan.
Aircraft activity on this scale will be devastating for those living around
the airport. Property will be blighted. Schools will be unable to teach
properly. People's health will be damaged. Many residents will suffer sleep
deprivation. All of these effects are well researched and documented. All of
these effects would become apparent if the Council commissioned an
Environmental Impact Assessment into their "Vision."
WHAT DO WE WANT TO SEE AT MANSTON ?
The Manston Airport Group have consistently supported the concept of an
airport at Manston. Local politicians who cannot justify the environmental
damage which would be caused by their own ideas have sought to distract
attention by falsely accusing us of being against development.
The previous Local Plan did not include any description of the scale or
nature of civil aviation which could be permitted from Manston. This plan is
now being reviewed by the Council and three development options are offered.
Option A2 is the option which refers to 10 million passengers per year. This
is described as the median option and is the one recommended by the authors of
the review. Option A3 is for a considerably larger operation than A2 !
Option A1 describes the airfield as a "general aviation" centre.
this would include training flights, small business flights and limited
charter operations. MAG believe that this option most closely matches their
aspirations for the airport.
Regardless of the option selected we are implacably opposed to the
introduction of night flights. Wiggins claim that the airport is currently
operating profitably without night flights.
WHAT CAN BE DONE TO CONTROL THE
DEVELOPMENT ?
Over the last year MAG have made strenuous but unsuccessful efforts to
persuade Thanet District Council to impose reasonable controls on the current
operation. It is our judgement that the Council is unwilling to use the powers
available to them and that they are determined to permit unrestricted expansion
in pursuit of their "Vision." Fortunately, the haste with which the
Council have proceeded renders a number of the planning issues open to legal
challenge.
We have won a Judicial Review into the Council's handling of the planning
of the airport. We are currently waiting for court dates. If we win this case
it will prove that Thanet Council have acted unlawfully. The Council have
refused to negotiate an out-of-court settlement and have obstructed our legal
team.
We have obtained legal advice from Queen's Counsel to the effect that the
airfield does not benefit from Permitted Development Rights. This opinion
contradicts advice given to elected Councillors by the Council Officers. This
legal opinion has prevented the Council from authorising 20 acres of
additional taxiway and apron-space without planning permission.
We have obtained further legal advice that an Environmental Impact
Assessment is required BEFORE any development is authorised. This opinion
again contradicts the advice given to Councillors by the Officers.
Legal advice and legal action is extremely expensive. To date, we have
incurred costs of £15,000. The final total cost of the case could be as much as
£60,000. These are large sums of money by anybody's standards. However, it is
not uncommon for property affected by aircraft noise to depreciate by 10 -20 %
relative to surrounding property. How much is your home worth ? The costs of
moving home to evade the noise can also be significant.
We need to build a substantial fighting fund in order to progress the
Judicial Review. In the event that we win our case we may be able to recover a
proportion of our costs. We cannot close the airport down, nor would we want to.
But with your help we can ensure that proper, enforceable controls are applied
to prevent its' development from making our lives a misery. Please help us to
help you by making a donation today. Your details are needed so that we can
return money in the event that we win.
Donations of any amount are needed. All donations over £20-00 are recorded,
and will be returned if finances permit, so do not forget to include your name
and address..
Cheques or postal orders should be made payable to the Manston Airport Group,
and sent to the group at :
P.O. Box 311, Ramsgate, CT11 9XL.
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