Showing posts with label consultation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label consultation. Show all posts
Tuesday, 30 August 2011
Consultation news
I'm peeved that the most we've been told about the consultation process has come from a bunch of lawyers based in London, Birmingham and Bristol. When will TDC have the sense and decency to speak to us directly? bit.ly/mWCPRz
Tuesday, 19 October 2010
Public consultation: the next steps
TDC say:
The council will be carrying out a full twelve week public consultation to gather the views of as many local people as possible in the next couple of months. This will be facilitated on behalf of the council by Ipsos MORI. Please could I encourage you to take part in this process once it begins. I will ensure that you are contacted directly with full details on how to take part once this commences.
This formal consultation process is not due to start until two pieces of technical work have been completed to ensure that members of the public are aware of the potential impacts of the proposal. The first is an independent specialist technical review of the noise impact study produced for Infratil by Bickerdike Allen. The second is a Plain English guide to ensure that members of the public are able to access full information about what the proposal will mean, in terminology that is easy to understand. Both pieces of work will be published on completion and before the full public consultation begins, to ensure that local people have all the information on the proposal before giving us their views as part of the formal consultation.
In the mean time please visit www.thanet.gov.uk for further information and to view all of the documents submitted by Infratil.
The council will be carrying out a full twelve week public consultation to gather the views of as many local people as possible in the next couple of months. This will be facilitated on behalf of the council by Ipsos MORI. Please could I encourage you to take part in this process once it begins. I will ensure that you are contacted directly with full details on how to take part once this commences.
This formal consultation process is not due to start until two pieces of technical work have been completed to ensure that members of the public are aware of the potential impacts of the proposal. The first is an independent specialist technical review of the noise impact study produced for Infratil by Bickerdike Allen. The second is a Plain English guide to ensure that members of the public are able to access full information about what the proposal will mean, in terminology that is easy to understand. Both pieces of work will be published on completion and before the full public consultation begins, to ensure that local people have all the information on the proposal before giving us their views as part of the formal consultation.
In the mean time please visit www.thanet.gov.uk for further information and to view all of the documents submitted by Infratil.
Tuesday, 5 October 2010
Eleven very pointed questions
Here's an economy dozen of the finest, freshest questions to come marching in the door, demanding answers. I'll be weaving them into our growing compilation shortly.
QUESTION 1
Would you please ask TDC to put the Schedule 106 currently applicable to Kent International/ Manston Airport up on its website so that the electorate can see what it says?
QUESTION 2
I notice that Infratil advises KIACC of the number of passenger and cargo flights each month. Could you please email me Infratil's month by month breakdown of the number of aircraft movements for each of these categories for the period April 2009 to August 2010 or, better still, arrange for them to go up on TDC's website?
QUESTION 3
Could you please ask Infratil to give a month by month breakdown of the number of cargo flights and the number of passenger flights between 23:00 and 7:00 from April 2009 to August 2010 and either email them to me or put them up on TDC's website?
QUESTION 4
Can you assure those under the flight path that there is always air traffic control and RFF [Rescue Fire Fighting] at the airport whenever a plane lands or departs? [Any variation of 'no' in answer to this question is truly alarming for the populations of Ramsgate and Herne Bay.]
QUESTION 5
Does the current Section 106 define 'scheduled'? [I note that Alan Stratford & Assoc raised the question of the definition of 'scheduled' in 6.22 of their Review of the Section 106 in 2005. This report was commissioned by TDC and is still on their website.]
QUESTION 6
For a flight to be 'scheduled', it simply has to be done according to a timetable. Unlike a passenger airline, a cargo airline's timetable might vary considerably especially if it is flying fresh produce. The airport's Geographical and Administrative Data states that Security requires 24 hour advance notice. Customs and Immigration requires notice by 15:00/16:00 hours on the previous day depending on whether it is summer or winter. In other words, these cargo flights which are arriving and departing during the night are not emergency flights; they have a schedule which has to be notified to the airport in advance. They are, therefore, scheduled night flights. Why have the appropriate fines not been collected for the Community Fund?
QUESTION 7
Who are the legal advisers who will be helping TDC through the negotiation process for the new Section 106 and how much relevant aviation experience have they got? I understand under the FOI we are entitled to know.
QUESTION 8
Why have TDC ignored the advice regarding Enforcement and Penalties in the report they commissioned from Alan Stratford & Assoc in 2005 [pps 31, 33]?
QUESTION 9
Could TDC please explain how ignoring Alan Stratford's recommendations benefits the electorate?
QUESTION 10
Except in emergencies, all QC4 aircraft have been banned from Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted between the hours of 23:30 and 6:00am since October 2005. No aircraft over QC4 are allowed to land between 23:00 and 7:00am. There is a movements limit and a noise quota. Could KIACC please explain, therefore, how QC4 aircraft come to be flying in over Ramsgate and Herne Bay at any hour of the night without penalty when this is not allowed at the UK's busiest, noisiest airports? This benefits Infratil but I cannot see how it benefits TDC's electorate.
QUESTION 11
Why has the consultation period on the night flights been reduced from 6 months to 12 weeks? Once again the benefits to Infratil are easier to see than the benefits to the electorate.
QUESTION 1
Would you please ask TDC to put the Schedule 106 currently applicable to Kent International/ Manston Airport up on its website so that the electorate can see what it says?
QUESTION 2
I notice that Infratil advises KIACC of the number of passenger and cargo flights each month. Could you please email me Infratil's month by month breakdown of the number of aircraft movements for each of these categories for the period April 2009 to August 2010 or, better still, arrange for them to go up on TDC's website?
QUESTION 3
Could you please ask Infratil to give a month by month breakdown of the number of cargo flights and the number of passenger flights between 23:00 and 7:00 from April 2009 to August 2010 and either email them to me or put them up on TDC's website?
QUESTION 4
Can you assure those under the flight path that there is always air traffic control and RFF [Rescue Fire Fighting] at the airport whenever a plane lands or departs? [Any variation of 'no' in answer to this question is truly alarming for the populations of Ramsgate and Herne Bay.]
QUESTION 5
Does the current Section 106 define 'scheduled'? [I note that Alan Stratford & Assoc raised the question of the definition of 'scheduled' in 6.22 of their Review of the Section 106 in 2005. This report was commissioned by TDC and is still on their website.]
QUESTION 6
For a flight to be 'scheduled', it simply has to be done according to a timetable. Unlike a passenger airline, a cargo airline's timetable might vary considerably especially if it is flying fresh produce. The airport's Geographical and Administrative Data states that Security requires 24 hour advance notice. Customs and Immigration requires notice by 15:00/16:00 hours on the previous day depending on whether it is summer or winter. In other words, these cargo flights which are arriving and departing during the night are not emergency flights; they have a schedule which has to be notified to the airport in advance. They are, therefore, scheduled night flights. Why have the appropriate fines not been collected for the Community Fund?
QUESTION 7
Who are the legal advisers who will be helping TDC through the negotiation process for the new Section 106 and how much relevant aviation experience have they got? I understand under the FOI we are entitled to know.
QUESTION 8
Why have TDC ignored the advice regarding Enforcement and Penalties in the report they commissioned from Alan Stratford & Assoc in 2005 [pps 31, 33]?
QUESTION 9
Could TDC please explain how ignoring Alan Stratford's recommendations benefits the electorate?
QUESTION 10
Except in emergencies, all QC4 aircraft have been banned from Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted between the hours of 23:30 and 6:00am since October 2005. No aircraft over QC4 are allowed to land between 23:00 and 7:00am. There is a movements limit and a noise quota. Could KIACC please explain, therefore, how QC4 aircraft come to be flying in over Ramsgate and Herne Bay at any hour of the night without penalty when this is not allowed at the UK's busiest, noisiest airports? This benefits Infratil but I cannot see how it benefits TDC's electorate.
QUESTION 11
Why has the consultation period on the night flights been reduced from 6 months to 12 weeks? Once again the benefits to Infratil are easier to see than the benefits to the electorate.
Sunday, 3 October 2010
Questions, questions
The current owners of Manston Airport want to change the rules that govern night flights. This is a major change in the way the airport is used, so Thanet District Council will be launching a public consultation. Both TDC and Infratil (the airport owners) will probably be doing their best to engineer a "yes" result. Smoke and mirrors, misinformation and partial truths will all play their part.
A lot of people have a lot of good questions that need answering. What we're hoping to do is collect all those good questions in one place. You can add your questions now - use the comments at the bottom, or email us at NoNightFlights@gmail.com You can use the Comments facility at the bottom of the article to:
A: CONSULTATION
A1. What area will be covered: selected postcodes, everyone under the flight path... ?
A2. When will the consultation start and finish?
A3. How is TDC going to make sure that everyone knows about the consultation?
A4. What information will be provided before and during the consultation?
A5. Will the information provided be in plain English?
A6. Will there be a "Yes/No" to night flights question?
A7. How are the results going to be assessed and communicated?
A8. What if the majority say "No" to Night Flights?
A9. Will under-18s get the vote?
A10. How much is the consultation costing, and who's paying?
A11. Will the consultation be just on Night Flights, or on a whole new S106?
etc., etc.
B: FACTS
B1. How many planes?
B2. How noisy?
B3. What days of the week will they be flying?
B4. What times of day?
B5. What flight paths will they be using for take-offs to the East and West, and landings from the East and West?
B6. Will 2300-0700 (11pm to 7am) remain the working definition of "night"?
etc., etc.
C: Old (current) S106
C1. Why risk judicial review by extending S106 without having fully (or even adequately) enforced the existing one?
C2. Who decided not to enforce the existing S106, year after year?
etc., etc.
D: New S106
D1. How does TDC propose to monitor the new S106?
D2. How does TDC propose to enforce the new S106?
D3. What sanctions and fines are available to TDC under the new S106?
D4. Will TDC exercise the sanctions and impose fines?
etc., etc.
E: NOISE
E1. Why not have more mobile sound monitors?
E2. How much does a mobile sound monitor cost?
E3. Where can we see the latest "sound footprint" maps?
etc., etc.
F: POLLUTION
F1. Are there any analyses available to reassure us that the aquifer is clean?
F2. Is there an inspection programme in place to monitor the effects of increasing traffic on aquifer pollution?
etc., etc.
A lot of people have a lot of good questions that need answering. What we're hoping to do is collect all those good questions in one place. You can add your questions now - use the comments at the bottom, or email us at NoNightFlights@gmail.com You can use the Comments facility at the bottom of the article to:
- add a new heading
- add a new question
- rephrase an existing question
- share any answers you have
A: CONSULTATION
A1. What area will be covered: selected postcodes, everyone under the flight path... ?
A2. When will the consultation start and finish?
A3. How is TDC going to make sure that everyone knows about the consultation?
A4. What information will be provided before and during the consultation?
A5. Will the information provided be in plain English?
A6. Will there be a "Yes/No" to night flights question?
A7. How are the results going to be assessed and communicated?
A8. What if the majority say "No" to Night Flights?
A9. Will under-18s get the vote?
A10. How much is the consultation costing, and who's paying?
A11. Will the consultation be just on Night Flights, or on a whole new S106?
etc., etc.
B: FACTS
B1. How many planes?
B2. How noisy?
B3. What days of the week will they be flying?
B4. What times of day?
B5. What flight paths will they be using for take-offs to the East and West, and landings from the East and West?
B6. Will 2300-0700 (11pm to 7am) remain the working definition of "night"?
etc., etc.
C: Old (current) S106
C1. Why risk judicial review by extending S106 without having fully (or even adequately) enforced the existing one?
C2. Who decided not to enforce the existing S106, year after year?
etc., etc.
D: New S106
D1. How does TDC propose to monitor the new S106?
D2. How does TDC propose to enforce the new S106?
D3. What sanctions and fines are available to TDC under the new S106?
D4. Will TDC exercise the sanctions and impose fines?
etc., etc.
E: NOISE
E1. Why not have more mobile sound monitors?
E2. How much does a mobile sound monitor cost?
E3. Where can we see the latest "sound footprint" maps?
etc., etc.
F: POLLUTION
F1. Are there any analyses available to reassure us that the aquifer is clean?
F2. Is there an inspection programme in place to monitor the effects of increasing traffic on aquifer pollution?
etc., etc.
Saturday, 2 October 2010
Ramsgate Town Council consultation
At the Ramsgate Town Council meeting this coming Wednesday 6th October at 7pm, Cllr David Green is going to be asking the council how best they can consult (separately, it seems, from TDC) with people in Ramsgate.
Venue: The Council Chamber, The Custom House, Harbour Parade, Ramsgate.
As we know, many of 'our' councillors appear in favour of the proposal. Councillors Jill Kirby and Brenda Rogers claimed overwhelming support for night flights following their own consultation with residents in Nethercourt 18 months ago, but when pressed, admitted that the survey had not been exhaustive but a good sample had been taken!
It would be good for Ramsgate Town Council to get a good feel for the opposition to the proposal and so we need a fair crowd. If RTC end up throwing their weight (bantam though it be) behind the proposal, it will make it harder still for us. Cllr Green is happy for questions to be submitted in advance as well as taking them on the evening. Questions can be emailed to them from their WEBSITE.
If they are, in fact, still making up their collective mind as to what they think of the proposed new night flight policy, this is the best possible time to tell them what you think - you might even tip the balance! And if you've got any ideas about how they can best run an effective consultation, do let them know.
Venue: The Council Chamber, The Custom House, Harbour Parade, Ramsgate.
As we know, many of 'our' councillors appear in favour of the proposal. Councillors Jill Kirby and Brenda Rogers claimed overwhelming support for night flights following their own consultation with residents in Nethercourt 18 months ago, but when pressed, admitted that the survey had not been exhaustive but a good sample had been taken!
It would be good for Ramsgate Town Council to get a good feel for the opposition to the proposal and so we need a fair crowd. If RTC end up throwing their weight (bantam though it be) behind the proposal, it will make it harder still for us. Cllr Green is happy for questions to be submitted in advance as well as taking them on the evening. Questions can be emailed to them from their WEBSITE.
If they are, in fact, still making up their collective mind as to what they think of the proposed new night flight policy, this is the best possible time to tell them what you think - you might even tip the balance! And if you've got any ideas about how they can best run an effective consultation, do let them know.
Thursday, 30 September 2010
So here it is.........
.......Infratil have finally, after 13 months of waiting, given us a figure on the flights they expect to operate at night. To summarise:
They wish to extend unrestricted operational hours from 0700-2300 to 0600-2330
Between 2330-0600 they now wish to operate scheduled aircraft which were not allowed under the previous agreement
Aircraft up to a 747 will be allowed to operate between 2330-0600
The numbers allowed will be up to 3 747's per night between 2330 and 0600, 7 days a week, 365 days a year
The very noisiest planes will be allowed to operate within these times with a meagre fine for doing so
East Midlands fines the noisiest planes £5,000-£10,000. Manston will fine these ageing aircraft only £500 to £1,000
The council are legally obliged to hold a public consultation. All documents released by the council can be found here.
Please stay tuned to this blog for further updates. Comments have been turned on. Feel free to vent your spleen. We are actively looking for people wanting to join in with fighting this totally unnecessary and life changing blight on towns and villages in East Kent.
Sign the petition, tell your neighbours, keep your eyes and ears open for events and public meetings, but most of all, tell the council exactly what you feel.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)