Posts Tagged ‘CAAG’

Meeting was no disappointment

Wednesday, May 29th, 2002

I HAD to write to articulate my dismay at the apparent biased views in the Standard article titled “Airport arguments” (March 22).

The public meeting did not leave us disappointed as implied by your article. It was just such a shame that the only two councillors seen at the meeting left early.

Brian Houssart was indeed at the meeting and said nothing about his or the council’s views on airport expansion.

The only issue he raised was one of safety at the meeting. It is understood he left the meeting early.

The meeting itself has been pronounced a success by the committee of CAAG and the majority of those who attended, including some of the airport staff, who congratulated us on a well-run meeting.

There was an enormous sense of grievance in the hall about the way that ordinary people are treated by the airport authorities and local council alike.

It’s hardly surprising that emotions ran high. The meeting gave as many people as possible a chance to make their views known, as the session “from the floor” was about 90 minutes long.

This gave most people who wished to speak a good opportunity to do so. Our co-ordinator, Jon Fuller, made an excellent job of watching for hands raised, assisted by the others on the front bench.

Finally, it is surprising that someone from the Rochford end of the runway supports the expansion plans?

It won’t be St Andrew’s church, faced with removal, that stands in the way of progress and won’t be her house that has to be demolished for the run-off area.

KITI THEOBALD
CAAG Chairman
Brendon Way, Westcliff

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Posted in Letters, Media, Southend Standard | No Comments »

‘Conservatives supporting airport against residents’

Tuesday, April 9th, 2002

From: Eamon McNicholas, Mayflower Close, Southend.

I refer to the ‘anonymous’ letter attacking me and making claims about the recent public meeting held to debate the airport issue – see Talking Points and your editorial March 26.

Although purportedly from a local resident the letter gave itself away in not having a view about the airport, but concentrating on attacking any perceived electoral threat to the local Conservative councillors.

In my view, as a member of the Conservative party myself, the letter has Conservative party fingerprints all over it and may even have come from a councillor, or one of their supporters.

The airport company proposals to fly heavy jets over the town, move/demolish St Laurence Church and gridlock roads with extra traffic will, of course, be a big issue in the local elections.

As such I can appreciate that the Conservative party in St Laurence ward are busy spinning to try and explain away the party support for the plans.

The fact is that last October, after a presentation by the airport company, the Conservative party voted to support the plans – without, of course, listening to the views of residents, the Church or affected homeowners.

But for them to now resort to, or procure, downright lies and scurrilous personal abuse is a sad day for democracy.

For the benefit of readers who were not able to attend the Church & Airport Action Group (CAAG) meeting on March 15 here are the facts.

The meeting was called by CAAG, no one else, to allow residents to make their views known.

Jon Fuller, of Friends of the Earth, acted as independent chairman, so no-one can accuse CAAG of dominating the meeting.

On behalf of CAAG I set out the background facts and CAAG’s views on them.

In a spirit of open debate CAAG gave the airport company a right of repy, so the chairman read a speech to the meeting, but revused to answer questions, after which there was a public question and answer session.

During this the airport director (and assistant) fielded and responded to questions from the floor, as did I.

The local Conservative councillors had been invited to attend by myself, but none made themselves known to me at the meeting.

Despite repeated calls from the chairman for councillors to make themselves known to the meeting only one Conservative councillor spoke up – but not on the airport.

In contrast, past and present Rochford councillors spoke up and called the airport company to account. The public clearly felt deeply about this matter and the overwhelming majority of those present expressed views against the airport company plans.

The three local Conservative councillors now allege, after the event and with an election coming, that they all attended the meeting.

Whether they did or did not I cannot say, but the hundreds of people in the hall that night never heard from them about the airport.

If they were there they must have been hiding. Hardly the conduct one has a right to expect, but understandable given their party support for the airport company against local residents.

As for the airport company itself no one is against it or wants to see it close – nor will it.

The facts are that last financial year it made profits of ovr £233,000, up 75%, and awarded its three shareholders a dividend of £240,000. All this on top of continuing council subsidies e.g. £130,000 last financial year, including nearly  £30,000 for a control tower.

The airport company is making a very good profit from the present runway and threats by it about closure and unsubstantiated numbers of job losses are just scaremongering to try and get its way.

What our politicians seem to forget is that just as the airport company has a right to try and make more money, the residents of Southend have rights as well.

The right not to have local roads gridlocked with extra traffic, the right to a decent night’s sleep undisturbed by low-flying heavy passenger jets, the right to protect their children’s health from pollution and the right not to continue to pay subsidies to the airport company.

In balancing these rights in my view they come down clearly against trying to shoehorn an international airport into an already built-up town site with over-stretched road links.

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Posted in Leigh Times, Letters, Media | No Comments »

Unanswered questions on airport and church’s move

Thursday, April 4th, 2002

YOUR accurate report of the public meeting about the St Laurence Church and the expansion of Southend Airport (Mar 18) quoted airport director Roger Campbell as saying people want to fly from Southend.

This may be true, but the majority do not understand that the local infrastructure will not be able to withstand the pressures this will produce.

As chairman of the Church and Airport Action Group, I have had letters and e-mails from outraged people with nothing good to say about the proposals.

A number of members attended the last of the airport’s presentations on March 16. It did not seem well-attended or organised.

The presentation consisted of a video showing buildings being moved and how this was achieved, a couple of boards showing in sketchy detail how it is intended to move the Church and a large aerial photograph of the airport in which few details were visible, in front of which Mr Campbell was gallantly answering questions. There was no information about the demolition of houses or night flights.

Assuming the airport expanded, where were the reassurances for people in the Somerset estate, who live with aircraft too close to their heads?

The flightpath continues over Leigh and Canvey – all these areas would be disturbed. The flights, laden with passengers, luggage and extra fuel, would mean a lower flightpath than that taken by the unloaded planes that now come in.

Where was the presentation that told us how the log-jammed roads would be improved to take the thousands of people who want to fly from Southend? We are told there will be no night flights, but we are not told what will happen in the summer when airline delays are the norm.

The people need to know exactly what the plans are, what the effects will be, what the alternatives are. Several of our letters have mentioned the idea of a referendum.

KITI M THEOBALD
CAAG Chairman,
Address supplied

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Posted in Echo, Letters, Media | No Comments »