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