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Who Will Be Affected
Background
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Lydd Airport Action Group (LAAG) believes Lydd Airport is not a suitable site for the creation of a regional airport, being surrounded by fragile habitats protected under European and UK laws, located under the largest migratory bird route in the South of England, less than 3 miles from the Dungeness Nuclear Complex and less than 2 and 8 miles respectively from the Lydd and Hythe military ranges. There is also no case for a second regional airport in Kent as Kent already has Manston Airport - a large, underutilised regional airport with one of the largest runways in the UK. |
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LAAG believes the proposal will lead to the destruction of Romney Marsh in exchange for the creation of a small number of mainly low skilled jobs since Lydd Airport will only be suitable for low cost operators.
Lydd Airport was acquired by Sheikh Fahad al Athel in 2001. Since then he has upgraded the facilities associated with the existing runway, but despite this investment and a strong marketing drive to attract new customers, it remains a small local airport used primarily by the local flying club.
The current planning application (filed December 18th 2006) consists of 2 parts - a 444m runway extension supported by an Environmental Statement based on 300,000 passengers per annum and a new terminal with an Environmental Statement based on 500,000 passengers per annum.
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We believe the Environmental Statement should be based on 2million passengers per annum (2mppa) as this is Lydd Airport’s widely broadcast ambition – to grow to 2mppa by 2015. LAAG believes this piecemeal approach to development is highly unsatisfactory as the full consequences of the airport’s development will not be determined at the outset. . |
We are particularly concerned about the runway extension as this will allow large commercial jets such as the Boeing 737 and Airbus A319/A320 to operate from the airport, providing the infrastructure for the airport to achieve both its 2mppa medium term ambition and its 6mppa longer term target.
Lydd Airport Action Group (LAAG) was reconstituted in August 2004 when it became obvious the management of Lydd harboured ambitions to become a major regional Airport.
General Information
Planning application process - CPRE explains
Stop or improve a bad development - CPRE information and guidance
How to respond to planning applications - CPRE information and guidance
Environmental impact assessment - CPRE briefing This is a 
.pdf file, which requires
Adobe Reader to read it; if you do not have this free reader,
please download it for free
Influence how my local area develops - CPRE guidance
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Environmental Impact Assessment The Scoping Opinion sets out the variables that should be covered when undertaking an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the preparation of an Environmental Statement (ES). The EIA/ES must accompany the planning application. To download and view/print - click on this link:- |
Summary of Kent Wildlife Trust’s position statement
on the possible expansion of Lydd Airport
These are .pdf files
Residents
Greatstone, Littlestone, Lydd -on-Sea will be most affected by aircraft noise, being close to the airport and directly under a flight path. Other areas under the flight path are St Mary’s Bay, Dymchurch and Hythe, while New Romney, although not under the flight path, is directly adjacent to it and located close to the airport
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No village on Romney Marsh will be untouched by this large scale development. The airport will ultimately require substantial investment in infrastructure on Romney Marsh to service passengers – new roads, bypasses, roundabouts and industrial parks will all contribute to the urbanisation of Romney Marsh and the increase in air |
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and noise pollution and the degradation in the quality of life. |
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The existing road infrastructure (A259, A2070, B2075) cannot cope with a major increase in traffic - there are already severe bottlenecks in the Rye area - and since there is strong commercial evidence that the proposed rail link will not be viable, at least until the first 2 million passengers are achieved, all communication to the airport will be by road. 2 million passengers imply an additional 500,000 car journeys to and from the airport. In addition, the aviation fuel/servicing demands of the airport will substantially increase commercial vehicle traffic in the area.
Habitats and Birds
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The infrastructure build to support the development will urbanise Romney Marsh, resulting in direct habitat loss across Romney Marsh and the degradation of nationally and internationally important wild life habitats through noise and air pollution and disturbance. |
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Lydd Airport is enclosed by the recently enlarged Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) called the Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay SSSI. This designation has been created by consolidating eight existing Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and by extending boundaries in a number of important areas including Lydd Airport. |
This enlargement demonstrates the national importance of the shingle foreland, sand dune, saltmarsh, open water and grazing marsh habitats in the Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay area.
The airport is also beside a Special Area of Conservation (SAC), close to a Special Protection Areas (SPA) and a proposed Ramsar site, all European designations.
These unique designations also support an important RSPB nature reserve. Since the area is heavily populated by birds and the principal migratory route to Europe, the risk of bird strike is high.
Dungeness Nuclear Power Stations/MOD Firing Ranges
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Lydd Airport is situated less than 3 miles from Dungeness Nuclear Power Station Complex and less than 2 miles from the MOD firing range at Lydd, raising issues of safety/security. There is also an MOD firing range near Hythe. The incoming flight path is located inland of this firing range. |
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Please let us know that you support us in fighting the proposed expansion of Lydd Airport by completing our online form.
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Landscape Greatstone and Littlestone, Romney Old and New, By Daniel Thorndike |