Southend Airport is planning to extend the runway by 200 metres allowing larger planes, including the Airbus A319, in and out when fully loaded. This will be of interest to volume operators of economy fleets like Easyjet.

Who is SAEN?

We are a group of local residents concerned that the lives of thousands of people living under the flight path could be ruined by the extension of the runway. We are not anti Southend Airport. The airport has been there many years and supports well over a thousand jobs. Most people are happy that the airport continues in its present form, however the major expansion planned totally changes the balance. The area to the west of Southend seems to be sleepwalking into a nightmare and the residents of the densely populated areas of Leigh, Westcliff, and Rochford could have many sleepless nights as a result.

Don’t Southend and Rochford Council approve the plans?

It is interesting and clever that in the second phase of consultation the Councils have combined the extension of the runway and developing new business parks. The two issues are separate: we are in favour of the business parks as they will bring jobs, but against the runway extension which will bring much more aircraft noise.

The extension allows me to fly to a wider range of holiday destinations doesn’t it?

Yes. A number of short haul European countries will be available for your holiday fortnight but probably at a regional ticket premium price. The downside is that you will have to come back to vast increases in noise and air pollution, plus road and rail congestion that may impact on your ability to get to and from work for the rest of your year.

But won’t they be using the latest whisper jets?

Passenger operators such as Flybe are voluntarily switching to ‘quieter’ aircraft like the Embraer which reduces the horrendous to the merely terrible. There is no such thing as a ‘quiet’ aircraft coming in to land a few hundred feet up. Also (and integral to airline operation) is the need to test /ground run their engines at various times.

Freight flying is not hampered by the constraints of passenger timetable preferences and desire for the comfort of modern aircraft. This means older noisier planes flying at night.

But isn’t the the Airport subject to noise restrictions?

The existing lease was not renegotiated with the sale to Stobart. There is no other local mandatory restriction on the operators and it allows for the frequent night flying of certain types of aircraft plus emergency provisions for diverted jets. National noise restriction regulations are discretionary putting the onus on ‘responsible’ local operators. Southend has an ordinary 24/7 Civil Aviation Authority operating licence and makes no charge for noise or pollution.despite being fully entitled to do so.

Who monitors the airport activities now?

The airport operators are accountable to the Southend Airport Consultative Committee which includes various Councils and among others, Alistair Welch (Airport Managing Director) as members. Additionally, both the Chairman (Stuart Greengrass) and Deputy Chairman(David Osborn) have declared their support for the Airport with Mr Greengrass wanting unrestricted growth as evidenced in his JAAP Phase 1 submission. It is not for us to suggest bias.

How many flights will there be with the expansion?

The current misconception is 40 flights per day based on the 2005 Master Plan forecast. This simply divided one million by 365 to get 3000 people onto 40 aircraft carrying an average payload of 75. It ignored any weighting factors for the holiday summer months, extra charter flights (carrying far fewer people on average) and existing types of aircraft movement.(currently 40 thousand annually).

The reality will be flights every few minutes even before volumes are fully realised. This ignores any freight flying potential as a consequence of the Stobart acquisition.

This question is addressed in more detail on the How many flights will there be? page.

What about the promised economic, social, environmental and transport benefits?

Yes, some extra jobs will come. Current specifics as to numbers, quality (skilled/unskilled, full/part time) or how many will be done by local people are yet to be seen. If the extra congestion seriously impedes our workforce/normal holiday traffic then more harm than good will result. SAEN has written a separate report examining the employment claims.
The social, environmental and transport benefits are hard to imagine particularly with the effect on house prices for those living under the flightpath.

Isn’t planning permission for the runway extension already held?

No. For all of the other projects (rail station, terminal, control tower, etc.) it is held and has been for several years. Protestors prevented it in 2004 and it is a large element of the current Joint Area Action Plan (JAAP) consultation on the airport future.

What should I do next?

Find out more for yourself. Research other websites for views from communities already blighted such as http://londoncityairportfighttheflights.blogspot.com/ (Newham/London City Airport) or www.ladacan.org
(Luton Airport). Write to the local press, your Councillor and your MP. Respond to the second phase of consultation on the JAAP.