Council's consultation details
A step at a time, TDC stumbles towards the consultation. Currently, the Council's website also gives a link to the Manston website that you can use to leave feedback on the proposals. I think this is a grave error of judgement on TDC's part - I think all the public contributions to the public consultation should go direct to TDC.
Night-time flying policy for Manston Airport
Public consultation to launch Friday 3 February 2012
From 3 February 2012, Thanet District Council will be asking members of the public for their views on proposals for regular night-time flying at Manston Airport. The proposals were submitted by Infratil, owners of the airport, on 27 October 2011 and included an aircraft noise assessment report and economic assessment, which are technical reports explaining the implications of the proposal.
View the documents submitted by Infratil in October 2011
After receiving the documents from Infratil, the council then commissioned specialists Parsons Brinckerhoff Ltd, to carry out an independent assessment of the proposals and technical details to review the environmental and economic impacts. This report was submitted to the council’s Community Services Manager, Madeline Homer on Thursday 19 January and was completed by specialists, Parsons Brinckerhoff Ltd.
View the independent assessment completed by Parsons Brinckerhoff (pdf, 367kb)
Purpose of the consultation
Thanet District Council has been asked by Infratil to comment on their proposals for regular night-time flying at Manston Airport. Before drafting a response, Thanet District Council would like to give members of the public an opportunity to have their say on the proposals. The feedback from this consultation will then be used alongside the findings of the independent assessment, to help draft the council's response to ensure it takes into account the views of local people.
Legal advice has confirmed that at this stage, the council is only being asked to provide a response to the proposals and is therefore only seeking the views of local people to inform its response. The advice confirmed that the council is not in a position to make a decision on the night time flying policy at this stage. The council is seeking further advice as to whether the proposed night flying policy, if implemented, could result in an intensification or change in operation at the airport. This could then require a planning application at some point in the future.
Take part in the consultation
The public consultation will run from Friday 3 February until Friday 2 March 2012. Responses to the proposals must be submitted in writing or by e-mail. The postal address and e-mail address will be published on the launch day of the consultation. Responses must not be submitted ahead of the consultation launch date.
Your full name and address must be provided with your response. These details will be kept strictly confidential and will only be used in order to weight responses appropriately, as the council will be paying particular attention to those directly affected by the Airport's proposals.
TDC website 26th Jan 2012
Consultation Infratil, Manston, Night flights, TDC
Reader Comments (6)
I have been advised that I can find out about the Consultation either on the TDC or Infratil website.
I am shocked to see that Charles Buchanan's PR machine has created a newsletter http://www.manstonairport.com/userfiles/files/Night-flight-policy/Plane-Speaking-newsletter-after-event-LR.pdf with a response form where it says it MAY pass comments onto TDC, and it's normal contact form selecting "Night-time Flying Consultation" where you can also leave your comments.http://www.manstonairport.com/contact-us.html
The public already ineptly kept in the dark by TDC are now in a position where they can leave a comment against night flights just for Infratil to lose it with no evidence of having left a message, assuming it will go to TDC.
At the bottom of the page at www.manstonairport.com/about-the-airport/planning/night-flight-policy.html there is a link to the Airport's normal comments page (where we frequently leave reports of night noise which are duly ignored) - no mention is made that this information will be shared with TDC.
If you click on: Download the public consulation newsletter from Manston Airport (pdf 171 kb). Be part of Manston Airports future - we want your views, at the top of the page you will go to the newsletter, which states:
"Please take a moment to let us and Thanet District Council know your thoughts on our proposed night-time flying policy and the future of Manston Airport. Post this form to Manston, Kent’s International Airport, PO Box 500, Manston, Kent. CT12 5BL. Alternatively, email consultation@manstonairport.com AND consultation@thanet.gov.uk Your comments MAY also be forwarded to Thanet District Council." (my capitals).
This is clearly misleading as any unfavourable comments on the proposal may not be shared with TDC.
It's terrible to hear that you can't visit your family and vice versa because of high transport costs. I have relatives in Australia and, like you, I would like somebody to subsidise my travel. In your case, I'm not sure that flights from Manston will be the answer you are looking for. For example, the headline price of the Flybe tickets was always a lot less than you actually ended up paying. I worked out that it was much cheaper to get the bus to Gatwick and fly from there.
You can fly from Manston to Ireland (Belfast) now, or Edinburgh, should you feel the need, dear igloo.
But you will need to get your skates on as Flybe is withdrawing all passenger services from Manston at the end of March. Nothing to do with night flights, or the lack thereof, but simply because they cannot make a profit flying from Manston, there is simply not the demand. Eurojet found the same thing.
All the noisy night flights Manston can cram in will not make it an attractive option for passenger carriers, as Oh Dear will understand as our local expert on capitalism and the importance of profit!
Difficult to undestand how Oh Drear can keep arguing against this point. For the last ten years the owners of Manston have been trying to attract passenger operators with little success. The couple of attempts to start up passenger services have ended in failure. At the outset, KCC paid consultants to give them advice about Manston. They were told that there was little potential for passenger operations. The report said that the airport should focus on niche markets for freight and maintenance. It looks as if the consultants were right on the money.
Some readers might be wondering why the Council (and Oh Dear) ignored advice when they spent thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money getting it. Legend has it that one of our politicians led an expedition to Stansted to see what a real airport was like. On the way back he told his companions: "We are going to have to promise a lot of jobs to justify this." Thus, was born the lie that Manston was a passenger airport and it has continued ever since. Politician after politician blathering on about passenger numbers and quoting made-up statisitcs about jobs per million passengers.
The bald truth is that Manston has limited potential and is unlikely to create and significant number of jobs. The current attempt to get more night-flights will make no difference to the airport's prospects but could cause an exodus of working people and businesses from Ramsgate. It's going to make a great novel. Having destroyed their own town by building Westwood Cross, Margate Councillors now seek revenge by destroying Ramsgate, in the vain hope that some of Ramsgate's businesses and prosperity will pass over to them. In your dreams.