6 Timetable - Your Views

Too quick to a decision, unless that's already been made.

I support the development of Southend Airport as it will benefit the whole area and cut down on travel to other airports, increase local employment and give Southend an importance in it's own right.

Infrastructure in area cannot cope with planned expansion; area is far too densly populated to cope with amount of air traffic (and related ground traffic); outrageous that there is permission already for up to 915 night flights per month; given timetable and various pieces of print (minutes from a meeting stating that majority of people were against Option 3 but council stated this was the preferred option and is still going ahead) - the whole 'consultation' is a joke. It's not even 'joint' as Southend is approaching it differently from Rochford. Would like an explanation!

Joint Area Action Plan for London Southend Airport

We are writing to you with regards to your consultation in relation to the possible expansion of London Southend Airport.

We have read through the consultation documents and oppose to the majority of the suggestions made. We are not opposed to creating more jobs for the local community through business parks but are totally against the expansion of the airport and the extension of the runway.

We live on the current flight path of the airport traffic that flies over the Blenheim area and at the moment it is just about tolerable. If the flights are increased to the amount that the airport wants, we could see the complete destruction of the way we live.

We are already woken in the mornings by large planes flying over and if we are sitting in our garden and one flew over, we cannot hear each other speak. One of the reasons we bought our house was due to the large garden it has. To have a possibility of a plane flying overhead every 10 minutes would be a nightmare. We would loose the use of our garden as a place of relaxation, our right for a good night sleep and also any peace and tranquillity everybody deserves in their home. What is Southend Airport going to do to minimise the noise/vibration that will be emitted by the Boeing 737's that they will be using? The noise that the current planes are bad enough with out the use of larger planes. We are told that the extension of the runway will allow larger planes to take off, which in turn will be quieter. As residence this is of no consultation to us. We have only Southend Airport's word that the planes will be quieter and it also depends of what their idea of quieter is. With the runway being longer, it will mean the planes will be flying lower over our houses, which in turn will make the noise louder. Will the freight planes be any quieter then the ones that fly over now? As the airport has been taken over by a freight company we are sure that the extremely noisy freight planes will be taking off more regularly and especially during the night (from reading the document there is no mention of the freight planes having to adhere to the quiet period during the night). What conditions have been made for the noise that will be made by these planes? The JAAP report and the Take Off newsletter from Southend Airport provide stats with regards to planes taking off. We find that we seem to experience more noise pollution when the planes are landing. Why has there not been any stats covering the landing of planes? Surely this should be being looked into as well and provided to the public to help them make a decision as to the expansion of the airport.

We have previously written to Southend Airport about our concerns and were responded to by Mr Alastair Welch. His letter was of little use whatsoever. He advised us to look at a particular website that advised of the noise regulations of airports. Unless you are a sound engineer or work in the airport business, this website is of completely no use. We believe that something should be produced that explains to the residents in laymen's turns of the noise regulations that the Airport needs to withhold and also how much noise we are likely to have to endure should the horrible possibility that the airport expansion goes ahead.

We are not naive in thinking that nothing should be done to the airport in bringing more jobs and prosperity to the town but why should it be to the suffering of the people who live under the flight path and the surrounding areas? Why must the airport be extended to such an extent that it will affect the way people live? There must be away of bringing money into the area without upsetting so many residents.

Two million passengers a year is such a large leap we really don't think that the infrastructure could cope with this. We cannot see how the roads will be able to cope with the amount of traffic that expansion to the airport would create. Yes there is currently planning permission for a railway station but to think that people will use this other than their own car is madness. Everyone will prefer to drive his or her own car. I use the A127 daily and during rush hour the road is completely chock a block going into and out of Southend. I can't see how the roads will be able to deal with the influx of traffic. With regards to the Park and Ride, this is just glorified parking. This will not help ease the terrible traffic on the A127 as it is too close to the Airport and the passengers will need to use the A127 to get to it.

There is also the environmental element as well. The government constantly talk about protecting the environment with regards to pollution, we can't see how creating more air traffic is going to help this. The council wish to promote the Southend area, as a place for tourists to come and visit but if the airport expands the constant noise/vibrations of the aeroplanes will actually put people off of coming here. Leigh, Hockley and Rochford are all areas which will be affected by the noise and are places where people enjoy going to country pubs, walks etc. How will the expansion affect the new Cherry Orchard Country Park? We are worried about the pollution that landing planes will make so near to our property. We have recently gained a new addition to our family and worry about how the noise and pollution will affect him.

There is also the issue of safety if we are expected to have so many extra planes taking off. The Royal Bank of Scotland building would be extremely close to the possible runway extension. There are also many local schools that are currently on the flight path. Also the buffer proposed between Southend Road, Rochford and the airport is not large enough to protect the people and the properties should there be an accident with one of the planes.

If in the very unfortunate event that the expansion goes ahead (which we feel has already been decided!), the council must ensure that everything is done to protect the people who will be affected by this, i.e. conditions that airport must follow re the amount of flights it can use, flight times (to allow people to sleep without being woken up/none on Sundays), mass reduction of noise and vibrations, which need to be closely monitored by the relevant council departments. We think this is the very least the council should do to protect the needs of the taxpayers affected.

We are also disappointed as to how Southend Council have advertised the consultation. Free papers are delivered sporadically in our area and so people may not have seen anything to advise them of the JAAP report. The first thing that we received from Southend Council was their Outlook magazine which was received quite a few weeks into the consultation period which is very unfair for people who wish to make comment on the report, especially as we will be affected by living directly under the flight path. We feel that Southend Council could have done much more to advise members of the public.

why in section 3 does it say 'Approved by both Councils' rather than considered by both Councils, it further underlines the impression i have that this is a done deal and that the councils have been purposefully obstructive when it comes to sharing infomation with council tax payers affected by the Airport aspect of the JAAP

As part of their analysis of the responses to the consultation, I hope the Councils will note that some organised objectors to the development have attempted to make multiple objections in the hope that sheer weight of numbers of objecting comments will carry the day. It is well known that those objecting to a proposal are likely to make much more effort to do so than those in support of it. In my view it should be just the numbers of verifable registered individuals responding, and their comments and views, that is taken into account.

I object to the extension of the airport per se.

I object to this proposal on the grounds of noise and unsuitability of expansion in a densely populated town.

I object to these plans on the grounds of noise and unsuitability of expansion in a densely populated town.

The consultation process and timescale as a whole are totally inadequate and unacceptable given the impact of the proposal on the local community.

We feel we must object most strongly to any expansion of Southend Airport. Although we live a few miles from the airport, we are already inconvenienced by noise pollution from flights,when sitting in our garden. The thought increased flights of large commercial aircraft and possibly during the night is horrendous. In our view, quality of life is far more important than commerce and profit. It is regretable that some employment opportunities may not be realised, but quality of life must be the priority. We also feel that if expansion of the airport takes place, this will encourage further expansion in the future. The impact of large aircraft noise pollution is considerable and to view its impact, we suggest you visit Thaxted, a pictureque Essex town some miles from Stansted Airport that is blighted by a constant stream of low flying aircraft(I timed them at every 2 minutes). This will be our future, no thankyou!

Strongly object. Having spent the last several hours reading the full document and then reading almost every representation, it is clear that the plan is not supported by the vast majority of respondents. Will our elacted local politicians, having consulted take any notice ? Not a chance ! they will railroad through want they want to do and its already evident that this is a done deal.
Having said that Southend Council can't even sort out a bandstand or the Cuckoo Corner Fiasco so what chance a major project like Airport Expansion !

I strongly object to the runway extension and associated developments. They will blight the lives of many residents in the area due to the increase in noise, pollution and traffic to provide very limited benefits.

There is unreasonable noise now especially at night & during the Summer. Expansion will make this worse. A127 cannot cope with current traffic volumes(it takes 60 mins to travel 20 miles in the rush-hour). Expansion will make this worse. There are 3 airports within easy commute of Southend nothing here has convinced me we need a fourth.

Faith in local democracy is key to creating a sustainable community. Failure to clearly and demonstrably incorporate local b=views into the process will lead to local negativity and political disengagement. It is clear that the comments and objections in this consultation process are genuine. However, the brevity and sparseness of support and its concentration on job creation appears to indicate attempts at manipulation of the process by commercially interested parties. It is hoped that this is taken into account in the consultation appraisal and that a reliance on simple for or against statistics is avoided.

The A127 backs up from progress road to Rayleigh weir on a regular basis, people will not use the airport again if there is chaos on the roads which will happen without major improvements. Also the extended runway brings bigger planes closer and lower over Leigh & Rochford. In summer with windows open this will become unbearable and a major noise pollutant reducing house values in and near the flight path.

I fully support the development of Southend Airport in line with the proposals set out in this document. The runway should be lengthened to allow modern, quiet, economic passenger jets to operate as far as the Mediterranean. Modern jets are much quieter than previous generations of airliners; they climb quicker and disturb much fewer people than the aircraft previously operated from the airport in the 1960s and 1970s.

I totally object to the expansion of Southend Aiport. I live in Leigh-on-Sea and we only received the information on Friday 3rd April (for which I had to call our local councillor and request). Nothing good can come from the expansion; it will lead to an increase in noise, pollution, traffic and deterioration of the area.

Not enough time was given for people to respond.

The consultation has been a farce - it's already 'approved' as shown in the timetable.

The relevant parties have clearly not given enough / any thought as to the impact upon people already living in the area and the already inadequate infrastructure.

I would be interested to see how the proposed additional passengers will get to the airport without causing a grid-lock situation on the A127 and A13. Not to mention the already over crowded trains.

Further more the impact on the environment in an already over developed area will be immense. The additional noise pollution will lead to increased levels of stress and a reduction in quality of life for all those unfortunate enough to be affected by it.

Financially it makes excellent sense. But in real terms it is quite possibly one of the worst ideas ever concieved.

The consultation is not being conducted in an open and democratic manner. There is almost a fait accompli reasoning to the planning. There should be more information in the local media and more reporting of the council;s points of view.This is not open enough.

The public have not been informed. I only received a copy of 'Have Your Say' on the 7th April. I have had no time to write to my MP or to Leigh council. The program seem sto be going ahead and the new railway station seems to be already under construction. This does not seem like reasonable consultation.

I hope that all this consultation will be made public and not suddenly thrust upon us

Aircraft on approach, taking-off and circling during the day will be a major source of noise and air-quality polution. The potential night time noise will have a detrimental effect on quality of sleep for the majority of Leigh-on-Sea. There will inevitably be an increase in road traffic in the area, since Stobard's are essentially a road haulage company.

I object to lack of publicity and information on this proposal. I was only made aware of it by an announcement on BBC Essex about information packs not being delivered by contractors a couple of weeks before the closure date for objections, I then had to phone up to get a pack. This turned out to be a padded out toned down version of the June JAAP Report with the three lower growth options take out and all the objectionable facts watered down or removed, (along with most of the numbers). Fortunately having already objected to the High Growth Option in the autumn I already had the missing information. My neighbours and other people I meet in the area don't even seem to be aware of this proposal yet, let alone know that they only have another week to object.

This proposal should be supported as it appears to represent a balanced plan for the development of the airport, surrounding area and transport infra-structure.

Many other communities both within the UK and parts of Europe have seized the opportunity and benefitted enormously.

This plan provides a way forward with increased opportunities for local employment and improved transport infrastucture.

The consultation is complex and has not been well publicised across the area. There are no options in the consultation process for general views to be aired. It is not clear how the information will be interpreted and whether the process is independent. There have been no open forums to promote understanding and allow for debate of the changes.

Why When we Are Talking About Destroyng Family Homes Has Nobody Been In Direct Contact With Those Most Affected This Is Being Done Underhandedly And Deseatfully Why ???WE HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW SO TELL US AND STOP HIDING???

I fully support the extension of the current runway and expanding the industial area of aviation way. I feel that this will benefit southend not just creating more jobs at the airport but as a whole in southend and increase the portfolio of southend as a great place to come on your holidays.