MEETINGS of Southend and Rochford Councils’ Joint Area Action Plan group – which is looking at an overall development plan for the airport and surrounding area have been postponed following the decision by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to issue an Article 14 direction in respect of the Southend Airport expansion plan.
Rochford District Council and Southend Council issued the following joint statement in respect of the postponement.
Coun Keith Hudson, Rochford District Council’s portfolio holder for planning and transportation, said the JAAP meeting postponement had been “necessary” following the Article 14 direction.
He said: “This action has proven to be necessary following the Article 14 direction by the Secretary of State and awaits his decision on whether there should be a public inquiry or that Southend Council can proceed to issue their decision to approve the runway extension application.
“It is extremely important we get an early decision from the Secretary of State, as to my mind it would be a crying shame to miss this golden opportunity to kick start the local economy, in order to capitalise on the potential provided by the Olympics.
“The Joint Area Action Plan is the vehicle by which it is hoped that Southend and Rochford Councils will be able to facilitate the creation of 7,300 additional jobs for the area.
“It is hoped that any delay will be kept to a minimum, especially in the light of the many redundancies recently announced by some of our local companies.”
Coun John Lamb, deputy leader of Southend Council, said: “The review of the airport planning application by the Secretary of State has clear implications for the Joint Area Action Plan.
“If the Secretary of State were to call in the application and make it the subject of a Public Inquiry the implications for other developments proposed by the JAAP would be serious.” In the meantime, Southend West MP David Amess has joined those in calling for the Secretary of State to hold a public inquiry.
He said he had received many representations from local residents and he felt a public inquiry would give them all an opportunity to put forward their views.