Runway plan imminent for Southend Airport (From Echo)
Get involved: send your pictures, video, news and views by texting ECHONEWS to 80360, or email us »
Runway plan imminent for Southend Airport
3:00pm Monday 21st September 2009 in Local News By Geoff Percival
On the up – proposals are expected in weeks to extend the runway of Southend Airport across Eastwoodbury Lane
CONTROVERSIAL proposals to extend the runway at Southend Airport could be lodged with the council in the next few weeks, it has been revealed.
The airport has already asked planning officials for guidance on the proposal and it is understood a full application will be brought forward within weeks.
The Stobart Group, which took over the airport in December, wants to extend the runway across Eastwoodbury Lane to allow more flights and bigger planes to carry two million passengers a year.
The scheme has prompted anger from campaigners who are concerned about the impact on the environment of expanding the airport.
Southend Council leader Nigel Holdcroft said: “Since there has already been a preliminary inquiry, then I would expect an application to be coming forward soon.
“Inevitably, whatever the decision made by the development control committee, the application will have to go to a public inquiry.”
Airport managing director Alastair Welch would not make any commitment as to the date when an application was likely to be put to the council.
He said: “We are working on the environmental impact assessment which will form part of any planning application we put forward.”
Mr Welch added work was again under way on the £12million project for a new rail station at the airport.
He added: “We have reached an agreement with Network Rail after complex negotiations which allows us to carry on with the current phase on the work at the station.
“We are waiting to see at what time our specialist contractors can gain possession of the rail line to carry out the engineering works which will need to be done.
“Once we know when this will be, then we will able to announce an opening date for the station.”
Mr Welch said the project was funded by the airport and would improve the public transport.
Although most of the airport lies in Rochford district, the area affected by any runway extension is within the Southend borough boundary.
Comments(21)
25JAS
says...
3:25pm Mon 21 Sep 09
shallotman
says...
3:52pm Mon 21 Sep 09
tophatdt
says...
4:00pm Mon 21 Sep 09
BASILBRUSH
says...
5:03pm Mon 21 Sep 09
I can't wait to use Southend Airport at last and avoiding Stansted and Gatwick. Instead of reading about it!
Queue the NIMBY's that want to see Southend fall further into decline, hiding behind environmental blackmail.
Aint it just the truth
says...
5:24pm Mon 21 Sep 09
southendreb
says...
8:20pm Mon 21 Sep 09
jas please tell me what propoasal have been spoilt most of them fail because they were never feasable in the first place
BASILBRUSH
says...
8:57pm Mon 21 Sep 09
You don't spend £12m on a passenger station as a smoke screen.
As a cargo airport Southend doe's not make sense. Even with the extension, the large profitable cargo aircraft could still not use Southend along with the fact it is not well connected for cargo use with dead leg runs.
Southendreb move on from the cargo argument. Its been done to death on here.
Nebs
says...
12:35am Tue 22 Sep 09
Time
says...
12:47am Tue 22 Sep 09
To be honest I think most of the complainers are der brains!
BASILBRUSH
says...
1:07am Tue 22 Sep 09
Nebs wrote:Its just a marketing tool used by airports. Like it or not, Foreign people would probably have no clue where Southend or Essex is.
Why do all the signs say "London" Southend Airport? I thought the airport was in Essex.
If you compare distances of London Luton (27 miles as the crow flies to the city), London Gatwick (23 miles), London Stansted (24 miles) and now London Oxford. Southend is 24 miles with a direct rail link and would have far quicker passenger processing due to its size.
I am sure people will say why not just be proud to call it Southend. But its got to appeal to people that want to use it as an alternative to the other busier London airports too. ie Business flights.
Dumbnut
says...
5:58am Tue 22 Sep 09
BASILBRUSH wrote:Which part of Southend is 24 miles from London and to what part of London exactly?. I'm a Cab controller in London who commutes from Southend so i'm intrigued to know where you get your stats from?. I have it down to approx. 43 miles. I'm all for it by the way.
Nebs wrote: Why do all the signs say "London" Southend Airport? I thought the airport was in Essex.Its just a marketing tool used by airports. Like it or not, Foreign people would probably have no clue where Southend or Essex is. If you compare distances of London Luton (27 miles as the crow flies to the city), London Gatwick (23 miles), London Stansted (24 miles) and now London Oxford. Southend is 24 miles with a direct rail link and would have far quicker passenger processing due to its size. I am sure people will say why not just be proud to call it Southend. But its got to appeal to people that want to use it as an alternative to the other busier London airports too. ie Business flights.
southendreb
says...
6:28am Tue 22 Sep 09
BASILBRUSH wrote:am i correct that that the station has not been built yet,so its a wait and see.
The fact that the airport is very feasible as a passenger airport with the small extension to satisfy modern CAA regulations allowing for modern passenger aircraft and Stobart have said on numerous occasions. You don't spend £12m on a passenger station as a smoke screen. As a cargo airport Southend doe's not make sense. Even with the extension, the large profitable cargo aircraft could still not use Southend along with the fact it is not well connected for cargo use with dead leg runs. Southendreb move on from the cargo argument. Its been done to death on here.
am i correct that this is stobarts first venture in passenger air craft.
Am i correct rthat stobarts havea contract with tescos to move freight around by rail.
am i corect that the sale price was well under half the expected value
I would like a successfull airport as i remember one here
but its a wait and see i think
SARFENDMAN
says...
6:28am Tue 22 Sep 09
BASILBRUSH
says...
9:04am Tue 22 Sep 09
Dumbnut wrote:Dumbnut you are correct and depending whereabouts you go to. I used the city. And only because I used Nautical Miles instead of Statute miles, as I had the wrong set up on the map I googled. But the figures make the same point either way in Nautical miles or Statute miles (as the crow flies). Southend geographically has as much right to use London in its name for marketing purposes than any of the others named previously.
BASILBRUSH wrote:Which part of Southend is 24 miles from London and to what part of London exactly?. I'm a Cab controller in London who commutes from Southend so i'm intrigued to know where you get your stats from?. I have it down to approx. 43 miles. I'm all for it by the way.
Nebs wrote: Why do all the signs say "London" Southend Airport? I thought the airport was in Essex.Its just a marketing tool used by airports. Like it or not, Foreign people would probably have no clue where Southend or Essex is. If you compare distances of London Luton (27 miles as the crow flies to the city), London Gatwick (23 miles), London Stansted (24 miles) and now London Oxford. Southend is 24 miles with a direct rail link and would have far quicker passenger processing due to its size. I am sure people will say why not just be proud to call it Southend. But its got to appeal to people that want to use it as an alternative to the other busier London airports too. ie Business flights.
Southendman, have you not been keeping up? Eastwoodbury lane would be diverted. Not closed. No tunnel.
A diverted road would actually allow more free-flow than now, as the barriers currently cause obstruction during certain movements.
Southendreb:
The station is currently under construction. Have a look at all the JCB's etc. on site working furiously on the Western side of the line.
Whats Tesco and the contract with Stobart Rail (Not Stobart Air) got to do with the airport.. Nothing.
Balfour Beatty had never run an airport either. They now operate Exeter and Blackpool. So I don't see why a multi-modul transport company should fare any worse?
Stobart purchased the airport at half the 'reported' price. Again, what has the price of the airport got to with with freight or anything? If you are trying to make a point that the airport can't be viable and thats why it was so cheap, then why has Gatwicks prospective buyers all pulled out?.... Thats right, unprecedented financial times. Stobart are probably rubbing their hands together.
Right now thats cleared up, can Southend Council allow this and let the Airport become an asset to the town instead of us talking about it?
Bonneville Bert
says...
11:07am Tue 22 Sep 09
firedog
says...
4:33pm Tue 22 Sep 09
southendreb
says...
6:37pm Tue 22 Sep 09
we will have to wait and see
i talked to many people who told me remblance towers will be built along with the casino
the football ground.
so we will justhave to wait and see
Thames Gateway
says...
9:09pm Tue 22 Sep 09
Both Southend and Rochford councils should be proud to champion the airport plans, whilst ensuring appropriate environmental controls are introduced. My feeling is most councillors are actually pro the airport thriving, but sway easily according to the way the wind is blowing at the time and are unfortunately a little scared of being seen to support the plans for the airport.
tricky jacko
says...
9:42am Wed 23 Sep 09
Jodaius
says...
10:51am Wed 23 Sep 09
Aint it just the truth wrote:Like most climate change 'statistics', this is complete rubbish. The IPCC estimates that air travel accounts for 3.5% of international carbon emissions. Road transport, by contrast, contributes 18 times more to carbon emissions than all other forms of transport in the UK put together (according to FoE). So, if you're that worried about climate change, I can only assume that you don't travel by car.
I hope the expansion plan supporters realise that we will have to cut non-aeronautical CO2 emmissions by 90% to make up for the damage caused by flying. We should all be flying a lot less not more.
As for the expansion, get on with it!
By the way, I think the Echo missed out the words 'half-a-dozen' before the word 'campaigners' in the fourth paragraph ;-)
reptile says...
3:15pm Mon 21 Sep 09