YOUR accurate report of the public meeting about the St Laurence Church and the expansion of Southend Airport (Mar 18) quoted airport director Roger Campbell as saying people want to fly from Southend.
This may be true, but the majority do not understand that the local infrastructure will not be able to withstand the pressures this will produce.
As chairman of the Church and Airport Action Group, I have had letters and e-mails from outraged people with nothing good to say about the proposals.
A number of members attended the last of the airport’s presentations on March 16. It did not seem well-attended or organised.
The presentation consisted of a video showing buildings being moved and how this was achieved, a couple of boards showing in sketchy detail how it is intended to move the Church and a large aerial photograph of the airport in which few details were visible, in front of which Mr Campbell was gallantly answering questions. There was no information about the demolition of houses or night flights.
Assuming the airport expanded, where were the reassurances for people in the Somerset estate, who live with aircraft too close to their heads?
The flightpath continues over Leigh and Canvey – all these areas would be disturbed. The flights, laden with passengers, luggage and extra fuel, would mean a lower flightpath than that taken by the unloaded planes that now come in.
Where was the presentation that told us how the log-jammed roads would be improved to take the thousands of people who want to fly from Southend? We are told there will be no night flights, but we are not told what will happen in the summer when airline delays are the norm.
The people need to know exactly what the plans are, what the effects will be, what the alternatives are. Several of our letters have mentioned the idea of a referendum.
KITI M THEOBALD
CAAG Chairman,
Address supplied
Tags: CAAG, Kiti Theobald