Alternatives to airport needed

The decision to allow a Judicial Review of the Government’s proposal to develop Manston Airport will now be subject to the proper legal scrutiny, thanks to the efforts of so many Canterbury and east Kent residents who oppose the plans.

I hope that the review will probe why the Government overruled its own Planning Inspectorate which strongly advised against the development; and why such key issues as its impact on climate change, which will affect all of us, have not been properly taken into account.

The developers claim Manston will create 23,000 jobs - but only over 20 years, perhaps by 2043 at earliest.

This is a mere 1,150 a year even if all assumptions on growth are met, which is highly questionable, given current airport over-capacity and the focus on capital-intensive (and very noisy and polluting) air freight.

East Kent needs better alternatives to airport development, providing sustainable, long-term investments, based on a green-led Covid recovery.

Kent County Council and many others have argued there is much scope for creating new green investment and related jobs, for example environmental engineering, solar panel manufacture, home insulation or biomass technologies.

This should be the objective for Manston and east Kent, not creating yet more carbon emissions in contravention of the UK’S commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement and our vital local interests.

Dr Carl Wright

Chair, Canterbury Climate Action Partnership & Visiting Practitioner, University of Kent