Public opposed to bigger Southend airport, says councillor (From Echo)

How can 'the public' be opposed to a bigger Southend airport, or a smaller one, for that matter? We have not been asked!

At the weekend we had a letter put through our door by person or persons unknown. It was a letter for us to send to the planning authority saying in several paragraphs that 'I want Option1 - do the minimum or do nothing'.

Now, I do not allow anyone to put words into my mouth, to tell me what I approve or disapprove of. At the top of the letter, in a much smaller font, there was an invitation to express our opinion in our own words rather than just sign the pre-written letter. Along with this was the website of Friends of the Earth. So THAT was where this mysterious anonymous communication originated. I phoned their number and expressed my opinion as above. 'Oh, I didn't know that was being done, I wrote that letter' was what the man at FoE told me.

Now, I have got a point of view. I don't believe the airport can stay as it is at present, with one business flight a day and a few holiday flights. I think that more use should be made of it. I am opposing the extension of Stansted because of the destruction of beautiful countryside and historic villages, but Southend airport is already there. True, there is the busy maintenance and repair facility. I don't believe that 'do nothing' is a viable option.

On the other hand, I don't think that extending the runway is necessary either. The present runway length is adequate for STOL (short take-off and landing) planes, even when fully laden. London City Airport seems to manage quite adequately, and it's in the middle of a very congested area.

The worst option would be to turn it into a Disney theme park, as has been suggested. Perish the thought! It is bad enough with McDonalds, the crowds and queues of cars at the roundabout, the mess, the smells, people flinging their McDonald's bags out of car windows.

It would be interesting to how Mr.Geach came to this assumption ?

I received the Friends of the Earth letter through my door and I thought it was an excellent way of raising awareness. I agreed with most of the points on the letter and added a few of my own, then sent it off. It was a very convenient way of voicing my opinions about the proposed expansion options.
I know I will be accused of NIMBY-ism, and it won't be for the first time. But I am entitled to my opinions in the same way as everyone is.
I don't want the airport to become more noisy than it currently is; I don't want more traffic in the area coming to the airport; and I don't want to battle with extra people on crowded trains with luggage either.
I have a choice to move away from the area, as has everyone. But I happen to like living there. I have lovely friends and neighbours and we like our town. I like shopping locally in the square and try to support local business. If all those who don't want the airport move away, what will happen to the town and the small businesses? Those who are left behind will live in a shell of a town surrounded by industrial areas. Is that what our council wants? Is that what local people want?

SA wrote:
I received the Friends of the Earth letter through my door and I thought it was an excellent way of raising awareness. I agreed with most of the points on the letter and added a few of my own, then sent it off. It was a very convenient way of voicing my opinions about the proposed expansion options. I know I will be accused of NIMBY-ism, and it won't be for the first time. But I am entitled to my opinions in the same way as everyone is. I don't want the airport to become more noisy than it currently is; I don't want more traffic in the area coming to the airport; and I don't want to battle with extra people on crowded trains with luggage either.I have a choice to move away from the area, as has everyone. But I happen to like living there. I have lovely friends and neighbours and we like our town. I like shopping locally in the square and try to support local business. If all those who don't want the airport move away, what will happen to the town and the small businesses? Those who are left behind will live in a shell of a town surrounded by industrial areas. Is that what our council wants? Is that what local people want?

Who cares? The airport has been there since 1914 so it's doubtful that you were there prior to that and you must have known it was. If you don't like change (airport expansion) then move!

As far as I am aware no one has suggested that we should move away. There is an awful lot of scaremongering about.

I would like to see the other options and as I said at the start of my earlier post, we have not been told what these are. I don't like FoE or anyone else telling me what I should think. Noise - what noise? One business flight a day, to Ford at Cologne, a few holiday flights, planes coming in for repair and maintenance, and you hardly hear them. Oh, there are the flying clubs. They do make more noise than any of the bigger planes, but they've been there for ages.

One thing is for sure - the land that is presently occupied by the airport is prime land and must be worth a lot of money. I am certain it will not be allowed to stay as it is now.

I suppose that if/when the 'travellers' finally leave Crays Hill, they could always set up camp there. Then, you might wish you'd had a few more flights instead!

If they do not like it move, the real truth is the airport has more rights than all the moaners it has been there longer than all the old ****.

At present the airport is very much in the 'also ran' category, yet the JAAP Report offers options which can enable it to offer a good range of popular destinations, plus increased levels of employment. Do the residents of Rayleigh really not want this? The option of 'do nothing' will simply continue a situation where they have the disadvantages of an airport on their doorstep without any of the benefits.
Perhaps it is no wonder that the Southend area finds it difficult to attract new major employers if such attitudes are seen as being the norm.

I find is somewhat amusing that the people of Rayleigh are against this idea !! Being a good 3 miles from the airport, this should be of very little concern of theirs, and therefore we, the people who live within half a mile of the airport, don't really value your opinions - surely you can find issues much closer to home to discuss.

TVoR

What happens if Southend Airport is closed, housing will be built and of course most of the households will have at least 2 cars, how are the roads around here going to cope, and of course the added polution. How about the problem of services, water supply, sewage, schools, doctors. These protesters do not look forward of there own noses. I bet the vast majority of them use airports at some time to go on there holidays, of course flying over someone elsewhere in the country. Come on we live in the twentieth century noise is part of modern life. Lets move forward not live in the past. Southend Airport is an important asset to the town, lets be proud of it.