Southend Airport has more housing in its immediate vicinity than any other regional airport in the UK. It is therefore grossly misleading for the JAAP document to suggest that the local councils have done anything to limit or reduce the number of people who suffer from aircraft noise, pollution and traffic congestion. The councils have failed in their duty of care to the local population by doing everything in their power to increase flights both by day and night. The document is unsound, it is based upon a series of false assumptions, including the claim that it will create thousands of jobs. And it is impossible to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by flying ever more aircraft. The first year of operations at the airport indicate that around 500 jobs have been created, of which around half were transferred from Stansted. The councils have squandered public money on various facilities associated with the airport and the airport has stripped £millions out of the local economy by devaluing property near the airport and flight path.



The last JAAP process showed that around 80% of respondents did not want the high growth scenario for airport expansion and an opinion poll last year showed that 61% of local people opposed expansion. However,it appears that the original JAAP proposal was only a beginning because, since the runaway was extended and the new terminal built, plans have been passed for a further extension to the terminal and building is already in progress despite objections concerning sewers and de-icing water treatment. The original predictions of 2 million passenger movements by 2020 are now being spoken of as possibly 6 million!