PLANS to expand Southend Airport have been backed by an overwhelming majority of the town’s planning councillors.
Following a tense, packed-out development control meeting, which lasted more than three and a half hours, councillors voted 14 to three in favour of the plans.
The application from Southend Airport was to extend the runway by 300m, divert Eastwoodbury Lane and demolish six houses. Bosses hope the expansion will allow 25,000 passenger flights a year, up from 800.
About 150 members of the public squeezed into the council chamber to listen to councillors debate the merits of the plan. Tensions boiled over at times, with applause for some speakers and jeers and boos for others.
Those in favour of the application emphasised the economic benefits they felt the expansion could bring to Southend, especially in light of recent job losses at HSBC and Eon in Rayleigh.
The Stop Airport [Extension] Now chairman Kiti Theobald laid out her opposition at the start, which was followed by a round of applause.
Airport managing director Alastair Welch also provoked applause [from his employees], though more muted, when he spoke in favour of the application.
Labour leader David Norman (Lab, Victoria) said: “In my time on the council, I can’t think of a single issue where we’ve all had so many emails and letters.
“This town faces a very precarious future, with a relative decline in influence and jobs. That can only get worse unless we bring regeneration to the town. The alternative is stagnation.”
Barry Godwin (Lib Dem, Leigh), who opposed the plan, said: “I’m not against progress, but neither is it a question of expansion at any cost. This will have an impact on Southend in terms of road congestion for tjose living in the east of the town, and noise and pollution for those in the west.”
But a final decision on the runway extension lies in the hands of the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, John Denham.
Mr Denham made an order on Monday that he will decide whether the application should be decided by a public inquiry, which could take months, or if he will go along with the council’s decision.
