#Manston #nightflights
To whom it may concern
I am opposed to the night flights for the following reasons:
1. It will affect the value of my property as planes fly directly over my property and allowing night flights now means this will happen over a 24hr period.
2. The noise already is unacceptable and I feel we have the right to sleep in peace without planes waking us up
3. I feel it will have an adverse effect on the tourism industry in Ramsgate
4. I do not feel there are enough job opportunities versus the potential impact on tourism
5. Night flights will become popular with existing day flights at Manston Airport
6. Every time Manston launch a proposal it effects the sales of properties
I do however want the council to listen to the public who live in the affected areas and allow them a democratic say in what happens in the area that, they live and have invested significant amounts of money and time.
A decision needs to be made and it needs to be binding, without allowing Manston Airport the opportunity to challenge the voice of the people continually.
Click to have your say in the Public Consultation on Night Flights
Do we want to encourage visitors to come to Ramsgate, stay in our hotels, spend money in restaurants and cafes, and shop in our High Street? The answer would appear to be "Yes", when you consider, for example, the Royal Sands development at Marina Esplanade, which will provide a prestigious hotel and over one hundred apartments. However, with 8 flights a night, between the hours of 11.30 p.m and 6.00 a.m., a guest may spend one sleepless night in the hotel, never to return, and the apartments will remain unsold, once prospective buyers realize that they will never get a good night's sleep. The flight path goes directly over this development.
I am not averse to the expansion of Manston airport between the hours of 7.00 a.m. and 11.00 p.m. if it will indeed help regenerate the area and create many new jobs. However, do consider the number of jobs which will be lost in hotels and restaurants if visitors decide against holidaying in Ramsgate when they realise they will not get a decent night's sleep.
Equally important are the long-term residents, who purchased homes on the coast in the hope and belief they would live peaceful and healthy lives, and who now face a future of nights disturbed by aircraft noise and pollution. Similarly, how are residents expected to do a proper day’s work, after a disrupted night’s sleep? I understand that, under the European Convention on Human Rights, citizens are entitled to the "right to sleep", and compensation can and will be claimed.
Night flights at Manston will ruin Ramsgate as a holiday destination, despite its fabulous beaches, dramatic sea views from the two cliffs, and its lively and picturesque harbour. Many anticipated economic advantages will be wiped out.
Please say "No" to night flights.
Click to have your say in the Public Consultation on Night Flights
I live beneath the flight path for flights in to and out of Manston and I am AGAINST the night flights.
These flights are incredibly noisy as they are flying at very low levels during the day and I hate to think what the noise level will be during the night. I am usually a good sleeper but if I am woken during the night I find it extremely difficult to get back to sleep.
The noise levels during the day seems to upset the local dogs and sets them off barking, which is another factor for disturbed sleep.
I am also concerned about the vibrations that this air traffic causes to the fabrication of the housing.
I moved to Herne Bay two and a half years ago and was delighted with the peace and tranquillity of such a lovely quiet coastal leisure town. The peace will be shattered if these night flights go ahead and I have a feeling buyers will not be queuing outside my door to buy a house on this flight path.
I am AGAINST the night flights.
Click to have your say in the Public Consultation on Night Flights
I live at Beltinge, Herne Bay - under the Manston western flight path - and I am totally opposed to the proposals by Infratil to introduce regular night time flying at Manston Airport.
I believe that this whole matter of the development of Manston night flights, including planning issues, legal aspects and consultation about future proposals, has been extremely badly handled by Thanet District Council and it officers - all of whom I feel have been naively taken in or otherwise encouraged in some way by the assertions, inducements and representations that have been made by Infratil and the misleading and inaccurate information that they and their so-called experts have provided.
At the same time, our local MP Roger Gale, who I understand himself once expressed his strong opposition to regular night flights, has also been persuaded to change his mind. This is not surprising at all since I know from previous personal experience that he cannot be relied upon to support the local community who elected him - i.e. the man or woman in the street. He will tell you one thing face to face at your door and give you assurances - but then let you down badly later. I will never vote for him again.
At Beltinge in Herne Bay we do get daytime flights on a fairly regular basis in the sky above our homes and, in the main, they do not unduly bother us - although it has to be said that a handful of flights over the past couple of years have been extremely low and extremely noisy. If this was to be repeated on a regular basis throughout every night the situation would be intolerable.
There have also been some aircraft passing over in the early hours of the night and they certainly do wake you up and interrupt your sleep. Again, if this was to happen every night, throughout the night, on a regular basis, then the health of thousands of people would be badly affected.
I believe that it is my human right to enjoy a sound night's sleep and a good healthy quality of life. It is also my human right NOT to be repeatedly woken during the night for years to come by huge, old, noisy, polluting and low flying cargo planes that could just as easily be handled at Manston during the many existing vacant daytime slots.
For these reasons, and many others such as wildly misleading passenger and employment projections by Infratil and their recent stated intention to undertake numerous night flights associated with the forthcoming Olympics, and the fact that night flights are not permitted at other airports, I wish to record my total opposition to the proposal to allow regular night flights at Manston.
Click to have your say in the Public Consultation on Night Flights
I would like to make it known that I am against Night flights to and from Manston Airport. I have lived in Ramsgate since I was four and my roots are very much in this area. I am, however, employed in London and work long hours and bring that wage back into Thanet, where I do the majority of my shopping in socialising.
My continued employment depends on my performance and my performance depends on a good nights' sleep. I am sure I am not alone in this - I am certainly not alone on the train first thing in the morning.
I am sure that we would all welcome more employment into the area but any new jobs will, for the large part, be of the lower paid sort, as is the nature of employment in any organisation, and as such will not raise the average weekly pay of the area. It is unlikely that every single vacancy will be filled by a Thanet resident in any case.
Staff for more highly paid skilled roles will be recruited from whatever area can supply them, and as the Gazette pointed out on 24/2/12 there is already a dearth of skilled workers in the area, and so we can only expect that external workers will be drafted in should such vacancies arise. Workers who are not tired after having their night's sleep disturbed. After all who wants a bleary eyed air traffic controller in the tower?
The airport newsletter suggests that the Manston will bring holidaymakers into the area and enrich it, but also states that the airport is a prime driver in a potential reduction in rail travel time to London - to enable the said tourists to pass through the area in as short a time as possible, spending as a little as possible on the way.
The newsletter also suggests night flights are required for importing fresh produce so that it can be passed to supermarkets for stocking their shelves in the morning. There are plenty of 24 hour supermarkets for whom all hours (bar Sunday) are pretty much of a muchness. Besides which, we live in an agricultural region, and should be working towards reducing food miles and increasing use of the excellent produce our area grows in every season, and supporting the local enterprises that already employ local people.
This all said, and should common sense not prevail and the Airport is given permission to proceed, I would suggest that the council not accede without imposing rules to protect the welfare of its residents. For example a maximum number of flights a night rather than an average, if the airport sales staff fail to fill a slot they should lose it rather than negatively impact the lives of Thanet residents and tax payers if they later found themselves with more takers than slots.
These should be backed up by clearly documented and easily imposed penalties to be invoked, should those rules be breached.
Click to have your say in the Public Consultation on Night Flights