A reader writes

I should like to make a few points, of which Cllr Carter should be informed! Firstly, he says that Manston's runway is 2,752m. When I checked, it was 2,658m. Heathrow has two runways - 3,500m and 3,570m, with Gatwick's one at 3,750m. So nowhere near comparable.

He says that Manston "is able to cater for all modern jet aircraft"; that's all very well, but a fully-laden 747 or 767 could not safely take off because there is no room to abort a take off in case of problems. If you remember, an Afghan DC-8 almost came a cropper on 11th August 2010 when, as it was later discovered, it tried to take off 25,000 lbs overweight!

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KCC's contribution, for what it's worth

Boldly Stepping...

KCC are happily throttling themselves with management speak and business jargon, which is why some of their worst ideas are dressed up as "Bold Steps". The latest in the series is "Bold Steps for Aviation" which is described as

"a discussion paper which suggests how the UK's aviation capacity needs could be met without the need to develop a new hub airport in the Thames Estuary.  It is intended to contribute to the national debate and is published in response to the recent proposals from Lord Foster and the Mayor of London."

Like it or not, KCC's voice will carry some weight in the interminable debate about future flight capacity in the south-east, and this document is what they're thinking of saying on our behalf.

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Manston out-performed by a small hole in the ground

Sad but true. The numbers are in on this summer's Open Golf Championship at Sandwich, and they make good reading for the county. The direct economic boost and indirect benefit of TV coverage are valued at £77 million.

Each Open venue hosts the tournament about every ten years, so the once-a-decade display of supreme skill at the stick-ball-hole game works out at some £7.7 million a year of identifiable benefit to Kent.

Manston's latest night flight proposal rather optimistically assesses the airport's current contribution to the local economy at £3.8 million a year - less than half the impact of the Open even when the Open isn't on!

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New hub airport for the south-east

Vince Cable and Alan Willett back Thames Estuary, Paul Carter backs Essex.

A Thames Estuary airport has won heavyweight backing from Business Secretary Vince Cable and one of Kent's most respected figures. With Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne expected to announce today that the government is taking more interest in the controversial plan, former Lord Lieutenant of Kent Allan Willett says it would be a wonderful opportunity for Kent.

The businessman and philanthropist who stepped down as the Queen's representative in August, believes that a new 'hub' airport for the county would transform the economy. Mr Willett, 75, the founder of a multi-million pound company Willett International, said:

"We need skilled jobs and, by God, you build an airport and you get lots of skilled jobs. Kent needs something like that.

Meanwhile, Mr Cable told business chiefs at Leeds Castle:

"I don't have anything against it. If it happens, it will probably solve a lot of problems. If it's feasible and private investors are willing to put lots of money into it, and the problems of birds, radar and over-lapping flight paths with the Dutch can be sorted out, I would have thought there's probably a good reason for it."

Kent County Council and Medway council have previously opposed the plan, preferring airport development to be at Manston. But KCC leader Cllr Carter today conceded there was a "very good business case" for a new airport while adding:

"What has to be talked about is the opportunity for an airport on the Essex side of the Thames."

kentonline 29th Nov 2011

Paul Carter: Emperor of Kent

Katherine Kerswell "Group MD" of KCC has left her £197k post. [Oh, no she hasn't! Oh, yes she has! Oh, let's see what KCC's press release says. Oh, let's not bother.] Initial rumours had Paul Carter as Leader and MD - probably not legal, and certainly not advisable. Later rumours had it that the post may simply be left vacant, as a money saving option. Either way, Cllr Carter will be the biggest fish in the pond for a while yet.

It appears that Ms Kerswell was doomed as a result of ruffling too many feathers in her reorganisation of KCC, so the Tory back-benchers conspired to oust her. Her pay-off is too large for anyone to talk about.

Another interesting idea being put about is that the recent KCC Tory leadership contest was decided on the basis of which candidate looked most likely to return Ms Kerswell to the strawberry fields of Northamptonshire. Looks like that's one pledge Paul Carter has delivered on... [rolling updates on this story...]

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Manston's dreams and nightmares

"Nostrildamus nose the future"Nostrildamus says:

• Infratil's Charles Buchanan will shortly unveil his plans to stuff our ears with plane noise 24 hours a day.
• He will brandish carrots and sticks as if they were real.
• He will repeat the mantra that the airport will have to close if the proposals aren't accepted.
• He will never say that he will close the airport - far too personal.
• He will want to distract attention from the fact that the closure of the airport is  a purely commercial decision, already more than half-made.

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Sticky numbers

It's been a long time coming, but the wait is nearly over. York Aviation will be publishing the second half of their report tomorrow, supporting Manston's hare-brained notion that night flights will be the saving of the airport, and Thanet, and probably most of Kent.

The first part of York Aviation's report (supposedly) dealt with the economic and employment benefits of Manston getting busy - that was the carrot. The second part will cover the threat to Manston if it doesn't get the go-ahead for night flights - this is the stick.

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New station 'would help airport lift off'

A proposed Thanet Parkway station would give a fantastic boost to Manston airport but the terminal would still grow without it, its boss has said. Charles Buchanan, chief executive of Kent International Airport, said rail links between Ramsgate and London were already much better, with high-speed journey times down to 75 minutes. A Parkway station close to the airport would cut this to around 64 minutes, although he would like to see it fall tobelow 60 minutes. But he insisted that the terminal would grow with or without the station.

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Chairman sorry after complaints

Clipping: thisiskent

THE chairman of Kent County Council has apologised after complaints about the way he ran a Thanet Local Board meeting. Residents and councillors were angered by Bill Hayton's chairmanship of the meeting at Chatham House school on 27th September. They claimed Mr Hayton rudely curtailed and interrupted questions from the public on the issue of increased night flights from Manston airport.

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Meeting? What meeting?

I was looking forward to the minutes of the TLB (That Lamentable Balls-up). I was really looking forward to the video. I was going to teach myself basic video editing, so that I could splice together Cllr Hayton's interjections and set them to an amusing soundtrack. However...

One of the audience at the Thanet Local Board's entry in The Worst-run Meeting of the Year awards agreed to being video-recorded on the understanding that a copy of the recording be made available. The recording proved elusive: first there was a brief diversion: "we need permission from the parents of the kids from the Kent Youth Council". Then came the suggestion of a phone call, for a quiet word presumably. And now, in a dazzling masterstroke... it vanishes.

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Resident storms stage at meeting

Malcolm Kirkaldie

Clipping: thisiskent

KENT County Council's leader was confronted on stage by an angry resident during a public meeting in Ramsgate last Monday evening. Retired serviceman Malcolm Kirkaldie stormed the political platform demanding to be heard after county chairman Bill Hayton had insisted on questions and not comment. Mr Kirkaldie shouted, "It is not a democracy" before going head-to-head with KCC leader Paul Carter on stage.

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How not to chair a meeting Part 2

Oh my, it just gets better. Ramsgate seems to have a generous sprinkling of sensible people, and as luck would have it, quite a few of them made it to the recent Thanet Local Board meeting. Here we have a measured and reasonable critique of the Chairing of the meeting, the preparedness of the panel, and the quality of their answers.

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How not to chair a meeting

As meetings go, it was messy. The high point was probably the brief presentations by the kids from the Kent Youth Council - keen on democracy, and happy to roll their sleeves up and get stuck in. Excellent stuff. They easily outshone the Thanet Local Board. Until recently, I hadn't known the TLB existed, and I had never seen Cllr Hayton. Happy days.

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Manston's future: public meeting

Here's one not to miss: a meeting of the Thanet Local Board entitled "Bold Steps for Thanet: regeneration, good transport links and Manston". This will feature Paul Carter (KCC leader) and Charles Buchanan (KIA boss) amongst others, singing the praises of Manston and the (yet to happen) Thanet Parkway station. It's a public meeting, with a question and answer session at the end.

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Hypocrisy

Last week's pithy missive from Mrs. Earplugs to Paul Carter FC via his blog on the KCC website.  No reply yet. I expect he's busy.

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.

Also, 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?

Anger as Kent leader stays away from Manston meeting

Paul Carter

Clipping: thisiskent

Paul Carter will be reported to KCC's standards committee after he pulled out of a meeting at Manston airport. The leader of Kent County Council Paul Carter could be reported to the authority’s watchdog on standards after failing to show at a meeting about Manston airport. Cllr Carter was due to attend Friday’s meeting of the Kent International Airport’s Consultative Committee but pulled out at the last minute and did not send a replacement.

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Paul Carter

How dare you

Carter 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.

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Brazier's assertions

Telling it like it isn't

Following the horrifying revelation that one of our elected representatives has been misrepresenting us, I have unleashed the merciless Mrs Earplugs. Blessed with eternal youth, bionic implants and the ability to kick-box without scuffing her Manolo Blahnik's, Mrs E now has the bit firmly between her razor-sharp teeth. We're not at DefCon 5 (unbridled bloodlust), but she's getting that restless, questing look in her eyes.

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Carter prefers Manston to Boris Island

Kent County Council leader Paul Carter has hit back at Boris Johnson's call for a new airport in the Thames Estuary. Mr Johnson, the Tories' London mayoral candidate, is calling on the Government to reconsider plans for a new airport in the estuary instead of going ahead with the widely opposed plans for a third runway at Heathrow.

But Cllr Carter on the other hand believes Kent International Airport at Manston could be the solution to improve airport capacity and has invited MP Boris Johnson to see for himself.

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Cosmos pulls out of Manston as US flight plans grounded

Package holiday giant Cosmos has this morning confirmed it has pulled the plug on its planned flights to the US from Thanet's Manston Airport. The tour giant, which promised to make the Thanet airport a major departure point for flights to the United States, has failed to sell enough seats both in the UK and US.

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