Q4.2 How can the airport best be developed to drive and support the local economy?

To act as an enhanced MRO facility & transport hub for up to 2 million passengers a year

By implementing most of option (ii).

I have looked at these plans and I think a few questions are raised.

1- Since I believe the airport is currently for sale, I wonder if it is wise to make these plans before the sale has taken place. I believe that these plans constitute an uncertainty that can only prolong the sale process and general confusion. I think it would make far more sense to stop proposing different plans that will impact on the market value of the business. Of course once it is sold, we will then know who the new owners will be and what they propose.

2- I notice at the moment that 1500 people are employed within the environs of the airport, but that most of them are not directly employed by the workings (flights/maintenance) of the airport. It seems to me that if the runways were given over to industrial use, there could be a lot of development and employment without the environmental "disbenifits" of an industry that is currently based on burning fossil fuels and creating CO2.

3- This brings me to my last point, which is to ask whether further development centred around an industry that is based on a limited resource (fossil fuels) is strategically sound for the future of this area.

Obviously I would be opposed to any plans which allow re-allocation of greenbelt land for a strategy with such strong environmental disbenefits!



I believe that as it stands, the airport makes a profit for its owners and as they are wishing to sell, there is no pressing reason to move ahead with any of these proposals. I am unaware of local employment problems and therefore am not at all sure what is in it for Rochford, nor why there is any need for haste.

The airport seems to have arrived at its present situation due to a complete lack of strategic foresight. Let's not continue in the same vein eh?

Regards Craig Carter

I enclose a print out which shows my search of your web address (via Google) was unsuccessful. So I cannot make any assessment of the various scenarios you have put together.

Option iii is the best proposal. The airport needs to realise its full potential in order to provide a sustainable future.
A fully functioning regional airport will not only benefit the airport itself. The whole region will benefit from the money and investment that would be attracted from the outside.
The airport already employs around 1500 people. Most of them are highly trained and specifically skilled.
An increase in well trained staff and more businesses and therefore investment in the area can only be a good thing.

Dear Sir/Madam,


As one of the largest commercial aircraft users of London Southend Airport we are very much in favour of the general expansion of the airport. The proposal for the extension of the runway is very important to us as it enables us to have more flexibility to a wider market. The expansion will mean more job opportunities, not only with Air Livery but with other MRO's with whom we work closely. The proposals in scenario 3 will make London Southend Airport commercially a very attractive package.

It can be redeveloped to assist the entire community (hospitals/gps/dentists) and not those who wish to use it. There is an insufficient level of community services for Southend and its borough as a whole. The creation of such projects will still generate jobs. Please note recent economic demise of small airlines and reduction in employed by Ryanair/Easyjet etc.

Dear Sir,

Re: London Southend Airport and Environs JAAP Consultation

I am writing in response to the JAAP Issues and Options report currently under consultation and would comment in answer to a number of the questions as follows:

Q4.2 How can the airport best be developed to drive and support the local economy

The airport can and should be allowed to develop to offer affordable scheduled services to allow both local residents to use it to go on their holidays and to draw tourists into Southend to allow them to enjoy the facilities we have and will increasingly be getting as we develop the area in the future. In addition, we feel a fully functional regional airport will in itself attract business to the area which will, in turn add to the regeneration of Southend.

Q4.10 What do you consider to be the transport priorities for the JAAP

The airport area must be effectively integrated into the public transport network to reduce reliance of car use. In addition to support both the airport and the broader success of Southend, roads into the Borough must continue to be significantly improved if the regeneration of the area is to succeed.

Q5.1 What is your preferred scenario for the future of the Southend Airport Area

Scenario 3 is the only scenario to consider a runway extension. This small extension would enable affordable services for local people to go on their holidays and bring people into Southend to allow them to enjoy our seafront and all of the other attractions in the area. In addition the opportunity to grasp the employment potential of the airport and its environs should not be missed.

In response to your request on views on the above subject, I object to this expansion on the following points.

Firstly the infrastructure is inadequate, I know a lot of people who will not live in this area because of the traffic problems as high-lighted only recently with the gas leak at Rayleigh. It seems that on a fairly frequent basis that there are problems on the A127 or the A13 and everything comes to a stanstill. Even without this the traffic is past saturation point and would not make it a popular choice to use this airport (and not miss flights!)

The car parking facilities at this airport are not on par with any other airport and at the end of the day passengers usually want the convenience of their own cars and do not like to use public transport. Which brings us to the use of the new proposed rail link to the airport, which could be made unsustainable or even obsolete. I know from other airports that they rely heavily on car parking, shopping areas etc to make any profits, otherwise the landing fees usually have to be so high the airport loses out to cheaper options.

It has been said about this being for the local population, which I have read in the local news that a lot of the new residents of Southend seem to live on benefits, so not the healthy economy that will provide for a sustained larger airport.

There are the environmental issues such as noise, vibration and pollution, which are becoming paramount to the government and world leaders in general. They cannot be ignored forever. The oil crisis which seems to be growing, demand outstripping supply. The aviation industry is one of the first to be affected by all this. When all this hits home is there going to be a lot of white elephants in the Southeast. There is the concern of shrinking green belt land, it seems in this area it has been built on more than most areas, so the area is already lacking in green belt. There is also concern of more demand on the water supply in the drought ridden area of the Southeast.

The economic arguments do not add up either as the Stop Stansted Expansion group have proved even with a larger airport expansion proposal such as Stansted. They have proved this to government bodies and the business work, but it seems the government are in the pocket of BAA and do not judge this on the facts. Let's hope Rochford Council are more sensible.

The idea that the expansion will help with the Olympic Games, I believe a couple of weeks event that will leave a lot of waste in its wake. This is based on speaking to business people in the London area. So generally I think it is a bad idea to expand this airport, there seems to be a glut of airport in this part of the country anyway and makes this unnecessary.

Why does it need to be developed? Aren't there other areas / industries that could be developed?

Option 3 is the only realistic option to enable the airport to continue to exist sustainably, with the commensurate economic benefit to the area.
There is already a major cluster of aviation related firms on the airport and in the area; these need to be safeguarded, which in today's cut-throat market, means giving the existing firms the room and incentive to expand at Southend Airport. For this they need a thriving, regional airport to be enabled. The small runway extension plus the other enhancements will assist in enabling this.

The airport should not be used as a means to support the local economy, but the grounds of the airport should be used for another Bluewater or Lakeside retail /business park and sports complex with Olympic swimming pools, international table tennis centre etc.,

By developing new business at and on the airport and as a consequence justifying the new connecting road and rail infrastructure needed to support continued growth