Write to them

Get the Planning Application ‘called in’

We need to persuade GO East (the Government Office for the East of England) of the need to call in the planning application. This is the process by which the decision is taken out of the hands of Southend Council, there is a Public Inquiry presided over by an independent Planning Inspector and the final decision is made by the Secretary of State based on the report compiled by the Planning Inspector. To do this, write to:

Planning Director
Government Office for the East of England
Eastbrook
Shaftesbury Road
Cambridge
CB2 2DF

Their email address is planningcasework@goeast.gsi.gov.uk.

You can also write to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, John Denham MP. He is available at the following address:

The Rt. Hon. John Denham, MP
Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government,
Eland House,
Bressenden Place,
London SW1E 5DU

He can be emailed at denhamj@parliament.uk.

You could also email your MP asking him to pass your letter to the Secretary of State, which is more likely to get the letter seen by the Minister rather than being dealt with by Sir Humphrey.

A template letter requesting call-in is being prepared by our barrister and will be available here soon. Make sure that you say that “this is a request for call in for the Secretary of State’s determination”.

Object Now!

The highest priority for anyone opposing the extension of the runway at Southend airport or the expansion more generally is to submit an objection to the planning application submitted by Stobart to Southend Borough Council.

The official deadline for objections has now passed, but you can still submit an objection via the Friends of the Earth website or email planningregistrationteam@southend.gov.uk. Make sure you quote “Planning application reference: 09/01960/FULM” and emphasise that you are submitting a “Statement of objection”. Southend Council have promised to take all submissions received before the Development Control Committee meets to make its decision into account. We expect this to be on 20th January.

Educate the Development Control Committee

It is also vital that we inform the members of Southend Council’s Development Control Committee not only of our strong objection to the expansion of the airport but also of the many inaccuracies in the information supplied by the airport that they are using to make their decision.

Write to your local Councillors

Make sure your Councillors know that your vote depends on their position on the airport expansion, undeniably the biggest single issue affecting the area at the moment. Many councillors and prospective candidates are ignorant of the issues but that can easily change. Just write to them and let you know why you oppose the airport’s expansion.

Write to the Press

If you are able to pen a letter to the local press – The Echo, the Southend Standard, The Yellow Advertiser and The Leigh/Southend Times, then please do so. They are always glad to receive mail, and your chances of having a letter printed highlighting our fight are quite good! Mention your own circumstances, the reasons why you have become a member of SAEN, what you object to and why you object, the pollution, the noise, etc. Make it personal.

Make sure your MP knows your views

Don’t underestimate the power of a letter to your MP, either. All the addresses you need will be available below. The more letters we write, the higher our profile will be – your one letter will become part of a pile, and it will soon become impossible to ignore what we are saying.