“Q. What do people from Herne Bay say when they see an aeroplabe flying overhead?

A. Metal bird!”

“Fair comment Michael. What is needed is some solid, sensible arbitration that balances real issues such as the aquifer, the environment as a whole and the local economy over petty gripes such as the number of decibels that annoy people.

Perhaps an openness to allowing the traffic to increase into Manston without laying any more concrete is a solution?”

“Andrew you have to appreciate that these concerns of mine are based on what the Environment Agency have said, and yes they also have concerns particularly about our road drainage, some of which they say is very dangerous and some of these problems are being put right.

The problem that we all have pro or anti, airport expansion, China Gateway and other development on the aquifer is that Southern Water and the Environment Agency both say the aquifer is essential.

A great deal of public and private time and money is involved in these projects on the sensitive part of the aquifer and from us on the on the Thanet blogs and in the local papers much concerned comment, both in the direction of supporting the local economy and in the direction of preserving our environment.

The main point I am trying to make that until Southern Water and the Environment Agency tell us what level of expansion will be acceptable, both in terms of pollution risk and hard standing reducing replenishment of the aquifer, development of this part of Thanet is in a sort of limbo.

There is most definitely a limit to the amount of concreting over we can do on the source protection zones before the amount of water is insufficient for our needs and although we could probably pipe it in from other parts of the southeast, there are two problems the first being that most of the southeast faces problems fulfilling the existing demand for water and the other is that piped in water is much more expensive, in the case of agriculture prohibitively so.”

“This is great news for Ramsgate. Until the council grows some cajones and actually monitors the airport on behalf of its electors - the residents who will suffer from its expansion - my worst wishes are with them and Infratil, who are not proving to be very good neighbours.”

“The economy is at its worst in three decades and so is Ramsgate. Increased commercial activity at Manston means jobs and livelihoods that will benefit the whole area. If the only thing opponents to growth are concerned about are their sensitive ears that is both selfish and naive.
Buy some earplugs and learn to cope! Feeding families is far more important than a few individuals ears.

Michael. I agree with your environmental assessments, however you need to look at the odds of a plane crash. The petrol tankers that drive down the Thanet roads every day pose an infinitely greater risk. Nobody stops them! The chemicals thrown on everyones lawns and gardens every spring and summer does much more sustained damage to the water supply than the remote possibility of an aircraft accident ever would. Stop that before you stop the aeroplanes.”