Another Consultation – This Time On The Airport

February

17

by admin // in Rochford

12 comments

There’s another consultation going on at the moment…. this one is on the airport

You can find out more on District Council website, though the wording is a bit dry and technical:

Southend Borough Council and Rochford District Council are in the process of preparing a Joint Area Action Plan in response to the challenges and opportunities offered by London Southend Airport, together with an airport related employment cluster.

……

The JAAP ….. will:

* Manage growth and change in the area by establishing development and design principles
* Ensure the protection of areas and places sensitive to change
* Direct investment and form the basis for regeneration in the area
* Be deliverable

Rochford and Southend Borough Council produced an ‘Issues and Options’ Report which sets out the initial analysis and possible spatial plans for the development of the area in the period to 2021.

Following extensive consultation the Council’s have prepared a ‘Preferred Options’ version of the plan, which sets out the vision for the future of the airport and the linked employment land and provides details of the policy framework that will be required to deliver the vision.

The ‘Preferred Options’ document is now published for consultation – comments should be submitted by 27 March 2009.

You can download the document here (3 Mb)

The Echo writes about the airport here.

We’ll try to write about this again, in a more user-friendly way.

About the author, admin

  • Do we know if the airport expansion will affect the amount of low flying aircraft over the Rayleigh area? I know we are not directly in line with the runway, but is there a risk of planes going to and from the airport coming low overhead?

  • ST1, apols for not coming back sooner. The advice I had back from RDC was that if the preferred option is followed, the number of flights will increase (no big surprise there).

    However, as the orientation of the runway won’t change, if you aren’t seeing and hearing planes coming over you now, you shouldn’t be more likely to see them in future.

  • Chris, thanks for finding out for me. We don’t get too many planes coming over us, although once in a blue moon I have seen fairly large jets coming low over us.

    I’ve flown in and out of Southend Airport on a number of occasions, and the planes usually take the obvious route along the line of the runway. However, on occasions we have followed the A127 westwards towards the A130, then circled over the eastern tip of Canvey to approach the airport from the south. This is all done at a low height, and it’s times like this that people who aren’t directly in the line of the runway start getting low flying aircraft over their homes.

    The comment boards on the Echo website seem to have a lot of supporters for the expansion of Southend Airport, and they often criticise opponents for buying a house near an airport then complaining about the noise of planes. However, as I explained above, low flying planes often affect homes that aren’t that close to the airport due to unusual approach patterns. I also think that most people always viewed Southend Airport as a base for servicing planes, flying clubs and a few short haul passenger services, and as such made their decisions that they could live with the level of disturbance. I don’t think it is wrong for them to now raise concerns.

  • I would like to ask the question, if the airport expansion goes ahead, where do they get the figure of 7000 new jobs in the next ten years will be created, no assurances from airlines that they will use southend,airlines grounding planes because they cannot fill them. Also how much more a people prepared to pay to fly from southend? We have assurances of quieter planes, but we had these when the barriers were agreed, but the planes are not any quieter. The airport is in the wrong place, perhaps we should look at putting investment into our dying high street and all the empty offices blocks in victoria avenue. Diverting eastwoodbury lane onto the A127, the tesco roundabout is a joy, how much more pressure can we put on this road. I am completely against the airport expansion.

  • I have to wonder about the proposed station at the airport as well. The station at Stansted airport always looked empty to me, people seem to prefer using road links to get to airports. The proposals for Southend Airport seem to be largely for freight, so I don’t see much of a case for the station. You may get some of the residents in the area using, depending on where on the airport site it’s built.

    Like the road network in this area, the Liverpool St line is pretty close to capacity anyway.

  • I would just like to add a comment with regards to the proposed railway station. as far as i am aware, this will be incorporated into the airport terminal, therefore only passengers using southend airport can use this link, it will not be for everyday people using the railways. Also listening to essex radio, they were saying that the councils will take on board peoples view on the airport, before they put there requests to the secretary of state in the summer, but it almosts seems a far gone conclusion that the airport will be extended, Will this not go to a vote? I would like to know what the processes are. I think a lot of people are in the dark, southend council have not done enough to let people know in areas such as leigh, westcliff what is going on, I myself live in westcliff, I only found out when a lady from essex radio stopped me, to ask my views on the airport. Its important that everybody has a say and also very important that everybody knows about this important decision, even if people do not live in the flightpath, others will be affected by the re-routing of eastwoodbury lane and the additional pressures put on the A127.

  • Joanna, I would be more concerned if the proposed railway station were intended for ordinary public use as well – that would worry me in case it led to the closure of Rochford Station.

  • Joanna

    There will be a leaflet delivered to every home in Southend and Rochford District.

    From RDC “For the latest version of the plan, a special leaflet has been prepared and printed jointly with Southend Council for delivery to all households in both districts.”

    Regards

    John

  • I am glad that the leaflet will be delivered to everybody, as of yet I have not received one. I have also spoken to Southend council who assure me they are delivering leaflets, but I have asked lots of my friends who tell me they have had nothing yet. I understand there is a meeting on thursday. As with regards to the rail link, there was an estate agent in mannors way advertising how short of houses they are because everybody wants to move to the area, also advertising the new rail link, I did phone them and said I was under the impression this was only being used by passengers, therefore there comments in there advert were completely false, but why would they write such a comment? Do we know for a fact this will only be used by people flying from southend. Do you not also think that additional pressure will be put on hall road and on the little roundabout under the bridge, I work at Purdeys way, I currently travel through eastwoodbury lane to warners bridge and go that way, but if this road was to be diverted onto the A127, I would then take the new road and go to Hall road and I am sure I am not the only one that would do this, how do you feel about the additional pressures that this will put on this area?
    many thanks Jo

  • i been reading these emails and although the airport expansion is not ideal for everyone i think its a great idea! have you all seen the proposed plans for a super airport in the thames estury,that would be a disaster.where do you think the planes will stack up if that airport gets planning permission? yes over us.i think i would rather have a small local airport, with what in reality would be small volumes of flights compared to stansted and gatwick,than a super airport which would probably outsize heathrow ! lets make the most of these proposed plans for the airport but the local councils should make sure that local people get given the jobs that will be available FIRST,no questions asked !!!

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