Archive for the ‘Government’ Category

Experimental rail service

Thursday, July 7th, 2011

Public Notice

RAILWAYS ACT 2005

DESIGNATION OF EXPERIMENTAL SERVICES

Under the terms of the Railways Act 2005 the Secretary of State may designate a new passenger rail service as experimental. This is to allow the service’s long-term viability to be demonstrated before it becomes permanent. The following are designated:

SERVICES TO AND FROM SOUTHEND AIRPORT STATION ON THE LINE BETWEEN WICKFORD AND SOUTHEND VICTORIA

  1. The Secretary of State, in exercise of his powers under section 36 of the Railways Act 2005 (c. 14), hereby designates as experimental all services to be provided on the line between Wickford and Southend Victoria, in the County of Essex and which stop at the station at Southend Airport,
  2. This designation is for a period of 5 years beginning on 8 July 2011.

ROGER JONES
For and on behalf of the Secretary of State

14 June 2011

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Posted in Echo, Government, Media | No Comments »

How not to vote

Saturday, April 10th, 2010

We want to provide information that helps you decide who to vote for, not decide for you. On this page, we tell you who not to vote for based on the assumption that SAEN supporters would not want to vote for someone who supports the runway extension and expansion of Southend Airport.

Details of the elections including the Statements as to Persons Nominated are available on the Southend Borough Council website and the Rochford District Council website.

See TheyWorkForYou.com for the results of the nationwide survey they conducted. The candidates’ responses to the question on Southend Airport included in the local sections for the two constituencies are included below. To date, only Terry Phillips, Barry Bolton, Tom Flynn, Kevin Bonavia, James Moyies and Geoff Strobridge have responded.

Tory Central Office has apparently issued a cut-and-paste statement rejecting the survey for their candidates to use, saying that it can’t “capture the nuances of party policies”.

We leave you to form your own opinions of candidates who can’t be bothered to answer their electors’ questions.

General Election

Southend West

  • David Anthony Andrew Amess – Conservative
    Wanted Public Inquiry into runway extension; wants safeguards for residents. Has not mentioned the airport in his election leaflet.
  • Peter Welch – Liberal Democrat
    Opposes runway extension
  • Tom Flynn – Labour
    Supports runway extension and says in TheyWorkForYou survey: “I have publicly supported expansion in order to boost the Southend economy – but only if there are no night flights and the necessary improvements to infrastructure (roads etc) are undertaken”
  • Barry George Bolton – Green Party
    Opposes all airport expansion. In the TheyWorkForYou survey, he says: “This plan will blight homes in Southend and bring little benefit. More planes from bigger airports is not a good way to manage air travel and its many problems”
  • Dr Vel – Independent
    Unknown
  • Garry Lee Cockrill – UKIP
    Unknown
  • Tony Gladwin – BNP
    Unknown
  • Terry Phillips – English Democrats
    Supports runway extension and says in TheyWorkForYou survey: “I believe that the airport will bring industry to southend. My only concern is the NIGHT flights. This will need the same restrictions as in place at london city airport. then it will work”

Rochford & Southend East

  • James Duddridge – Conservative
    Supports runway extension, describing it as “a golden opportunity for Rochford and Southend”. Says “he will continue to fight hard for the urgent completion of the project”.
  • Graham Edwin Longley – Liberal Democrat
    Wanted more scrutiny of decision but supports runway extension
  • Kevin Andrew Martin Bonavia – Labour
    Supports runway extension. Labour haven’t even mentioned the airport on their election leaflets! * In response to the TheyWorkForYou survey, he says “Southend Aiport’s development will help bring more jobs and indirectly support local businesses. But there should be no night flights as per other airports its size.”
  • Andrew John Vaughan – Green Party
    Opposes all airport expansion
  • Anthony Brian Chytry – Independent
    Called for referendum on airport; hasn’t made his own views known
  • James William Moyies – UKIP
    Supports the runway extension.
  • Geoff Strobridge – BNP
    Claims neutrality and says – this is a direct quote from his survey response for TheyWorkForYou – “The decision has already been made, so we are buggerd! We got to do the best we can, because it’s going to happen.”

Local Election

The official Statement of Persons Nominated is available on the Southend Borough Council website. Further details of the local elections will be available on this page shortly.

Development Control Committee

Below is shown the way members of the DCC voted in January. Names in italics are those councillors who are up for re-election.

Voted for runway extension:

  • Brian Kelly – Conservative
  • Daphne White – Conservative
  • Elizabeth Day – Conservative
  • Ann Robertson – Conservative
  • Gwen Horrigan – Conservative
  • Richard Brown – Conservative
  • Jonathan Garston – Conservative
  • Roger Hadley – Conservative
  • Stephen Habermel – Conservative
  • Ron Woodley – Independent
  • Mike Assenheim – Independent
  • Mike Royston – Labour
  • David Norman – Labour
  • Ted Lewin – Liberal Democrat

Voted against runway extension:

  • Barry Godwin – Liberal Democrat
  • Jim Clinkscales – Liberal Democrat
  • Mike Grimwade – Liberal Democrat

The conclusion to be drawn from this is that you can’t vote Conservative, Labour or for Ted Lewin in the local elections.

On the subject of Mr Lewin, a local resident has been in touch to share his door-to-door canvassing patter:

We had a very interesting conversation with Ted Lewin last night on our doorstep. We told him how disappointed and let down we were that he had voted yes to the airport expansion at the planning meeting. Ted’s answer was it’s better than having a Gypsy site or a Camp for Illegal Immigrants there, which he implied were the other options open to us if the airport didn’t go ahead!

As the airport has a 150-year lease as an airport, it seems unlikely that it will become a Gypsy site or camp for illegal immigrants any time before the year 2144.

If there are any errors in the above, electoral candidates are welcome to contact election@saen.org.uk with corrections. Anyone with a copy of election literature that spells out a candidate’s position on the airport, please scan it and send it to the same address.

Posted in Election, Government, Local Government | 13 Comments »

Loss of faith in local town planners

Monday, November 23rd, 2009

Dear Sirs,
Request for a Public Inquiry for the planning Application number:- 09/01960/FULM Runway Extension for London Southend Airport.
Please can you help in this matter?
We are rapidly losing faith in the local Conservative run Council
Their arrogance is beyond belief.
They wish to expand the local airport, which is sited within a densely populated area. Having carried out a consultation – when many of the households concerned never received any information about, they had to repeat the exercise and extend the closing date but then, they decided not to publish the results!
The results have only been obtained by applying under the Freedom of Information Act
The results showed that 80% of the people who responded (and several thousand people did respond) did not want an expansion but the local conservative party have decided that this is not representative of the majority of the views of the local people……..so they are going ahead anyway!
The airport has been sold to the Stobart Group. The fears of many people living nearby or under the flight path are:
1. the increased emissions from freight aircraft and in particular the disturbance at night, as currently there are no restrictions on night flights involving freight.
The flight path travels over a densley populated area as well as several schools within the area, including one school for children with special needs. At the moment the teachers at the schools have to stop teaching whenever a plane goes over. For the number of flights to be increased, the education of the children at these schools is likely to be seriously disrupted.
The quality of life for many thousands of people will be adversely affected by the smell and pollution from an increase in freight planes as well as the increased disturbance especially at night.
2. There are only two main roads in and out of our town: the A13 and A127. Both of these roads are gridlocked during the rush hours. In order to accommodate the expansion and extension of the runway, a diversion is to be made of another busy main road within the town that currently runs across the end of the existing runway. The plan is to divert this busy main road into an even busier main road that leads directly off the A127 -and no one on the local planning committee seems to understand that this will create a gridlock with the local traffic, especially during rush hour as many local people use them to avoid the A127. At the moment these two roads are very busy throughout the day, but especially during the rush hour, but to merge them in this way, will creat havoc as traffic silts back up on the A127.
3. The only means of access to the airport from the main A127 is through residential areas. Having sold the airport to the Stobart Group will, many of the residents of this town believe, increase heavy goods vehicles on the surrounding residential roads and all the schools within the area. There will be further havoc and traffic pollution to the many local people trying to gain access to their local schools in the morning or to get to work.
It is the belief of many people in this town, that this is too big a project for a few misinformed and arrogant local town planners to decide the fate of many thousands of residents whose lives will be blighted if this expansion is allowed to go ahead – please can this matter be ‘called in’ so that a proper public enquiry may be set up to look at the implications for thousands of residents and several schools under the flight path of this small airport, to determine the impact of such an expansion such as:
More climate change emissions
More road traffic
More noise
We no longer have any faith in the decency of the local council to deal with this matter. We, like many of the hundreds of people who turn up at meetings to protest about this expansion believe that we have been lied to by the local council and that behind closed doors, some kind of deal has been struck and that the residents of this town will just have to put up with it.
We attach a copy of our letter that has been sent to every member of the local planning committee, for more detailed information. Not one of them has replied because they have all been told that they cannot comment. What kind of country are we living in, where the views of the local electorate are ignored.
We want a proper enquiry into the the cause and effect of expanding the airport thereby increasing flights, day and night over densely populated areas.
Regards
Mr. & Mrs. Shardlow

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Posted in Government, Letters, Planning Application | No Comments »

Government response to request for call-in

Wednesday, November 18th, 2009
DAVID AMESS MP

Member of Parliament for Southend West
HOUSE OF COMMONS
LONDON SW1A 0AA

Mrs Kiti Theobald
Chairman
Stop Airport Expansion Now
PO Box 5909
Southend-on-Sea MLO
Short St
Southend-on-sea
Essex
SS1 1AA

18 November 2009

Our ref: SW2411

Dear Kiti,

Further to our recent correspondence, I have received a response from Paul Clark MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport.

Please find enclosed a copy of his reply. I will be interested to hear what you think. If you have any questions about the letter, just let me know.

With all good wishes,

Yours ever,

David Amess MP

Department for
Transport

From the Parliamentary
Under Secretary of State

Great Minster House
76 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DR

Tel: 020 7944 3082
Fax: 020 7944 4492
E-Mail: paul.clark@dft.gsi.gov.uk

Web site: www.dft.gov.uk

Our Ref: AA/PC/026331/09
Your Ref: SW2411

David Amess MP
House of Commons
LONDON SW1A 0AA

16 NOV 2009

Dear David,

Thank you for your letter of 12 October to Andrew Adonis. You raised concerns from your constituent about the possible expansion of Southend Airport. I am replying as I have Ministerial responsibility for this issue.

Primary responsibility for planning policy and development control on the airport site lies with Southend-on-Sea Borough Council and Rochford Council. They are the statutory planning authorities. It is for them to decide, in the first instance, what form of development may be permitted. In making their decisions, they will have regard to statutory development plans and other material considerations. The Secretary of State only intervenes in the most exceptional cases. To do so more often would undermine the responsibility given to local planning authorities.

The Secretary of State is very selective about calling in planning applications. Generally, he only takes this step if planning issues beyond local importance are involved and if they merit a strategic overview that is difficult to achieve at a local level. Every case is considered on its own merits.

Responsibility for preparing the Joint Area Action Plan (JAAP) for Southend Airport is shared by both planning authorities. I understand that when early versions of the JAAP were published for public consultation, the planning authorities included reference to possible extension of the runway.

I am not aware that work on the JAAP has been suspended. However, as an unforseen planning application has been made to extend the runway, I think it is reasonable for the local planning authorities to develop a contingency plan for taking work forward, depending on the decision reached by the Development Control Committee. There will still be a requirement for public consultation on the JAAP, whatever form it takes, before it is submitted to the Secretary of State. Full Public Examination of the JAAP will then be carried out by a Planning Inspector.

Government Office for the East of England is monitoring the situation closely. If the Development Control Committee is minded to approve the planning application a decision to refer the application to the Secretary of State to determine whether it should be called in or not will be made at that stage.

I hope this is helpful.

PAUL CLARK

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Statement from David Amess MP

Friday, November 13th, 2009

Statement:

I congratulate the Town Council on holding this meeting and giving local residents a further opportunity to air their views concerning the proposed development of the airport. Whilst there is no firm date for Southend Council’s planning meeting regarding this matter, the clear understanding is that it will be held in late January 2010. I have now taken advice from the Secretary of State’s office and the House of Commons Library as to how residents who want further scrutiny of the proposals should proceed. Every resident who has written to me concerning this subject has had their views forwarded not only to the local authority and to Stobart but also to the Secretary of State. This I will continue to do with all the letters I receive, right up to the time of the planning meeting.

For those residents who remain concerned about the airport’s plans for expansion, the Secretary of State, if he is minded to call the plans in, would not do so until after the Council’s planning meeting has taken place in January. If the planning application is refused, then it is open to the applicant to appeal against the decision.

The Secretary of State is already aware that a largeg number of residents are still unsure about the airport’s proposals. It would be helpful if this meeting or indeed any other meeting comes to a collective view about the issue of a public inquiry, and that it then be conveyed to me so that I can present the concerns to Parliament as soon as possible i.e. next week. I should add that I will be writing to every resident who has contacted me about this issue setting out perhaps more clearly the process for a public inquiry being held.

For my own part, not only as your Member of Parliament but as a local resident, I will be supporting the proposition that a public inquiry be held. Nevertheless, my duty is to present all views of residents as they are given to me. I should add that my support for a public inquiry will not be the determining factor. The decision will rest entirely with the government and the Secretary of State John Denham.

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Posted in Government | 1 Comment »

Sadiq Khan MP: Government position on Southend Airport

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009
DAVID AMESS MP

Member of Parliament for Southend West
HOUSE OF COMMONS
LONDON SW1A 0AA

Mrs Kiti Theobald
Chairman
Stop Airport Expansion Now
PO Box 5909
Southend-on-Sea MLO
Short St
Southend-on-sea
Essex
SS1 1AA

Wednesday, 26 August 2009

Our ref: SW2411

Dear Kiti,

Further to our recent correspondence, I have received a response from Mr Sadiq Khan MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Please find enclosed a copy of his reply, which I hope will help to clarify the current government’s position.

If you have any questions about the letter, or if you think I can be of any further assistance, please do let me know.

Yours ever,

David Amess MP

Department for
Transport

From the Minister of State

Great Minster House
76 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DR

Tel: 020 7944 3082
Fax: 020 7944 4492
E-Mail: sadiq.khan@dft.gsi.gov.uk

Web site: www.dft.gov.uk

Our Ref: AA/PC/021001/09
Your Ref: SW2411

David Amess MP
House of Commons
LONDON SW1A 0AA

24 AUG 2009

Dear David,

Thank you for your letter of 7 August to Andrew Adonis, in which you pass on concerns from a constituent in your area on the impact of the possible expansion of Southend Airport. I am replying as Duty Minister.

Specifically your constituent raises concerns about the delay in the release of the results of a consultation into the Joint Area Action Plan for Southend and Rochford conducted by Rochford District Council. I understand that Rochford District Council have indicated that a full report on the consultations and the councils response to the points raised will be published in due course as part of the next stage in the preparation of the Joint Area Action Plan. At the time of publication of the Joint Area Action Plan there is a requirement for the Council to demonstrate the consultations that it undertook and its response to those consultations. Your constituents will also have the opportunity to make representations at the pre-submission stage to the Planning Inspectorate prior to the examination-in-public.

Concerning the expansion of Southend Airport itself, no planning application has yet been submitted to the planning authority, but if it is there will be the opportunity for your constituents to register any objection.

Sadiq Khan MP

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