Deadline 5 Submission
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Deadline 5 Submission This Deadline 5 submission contains three elements: 1. Need & Operations: Applicant and Public Authority responsibilities pursuant to Case Law Hatton and others v. United Kingdom that shows Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights to apply in cases of aircraft noise. Observations communicated at the Need & Operations Issue Specific Hearing of 21 March 2019. Please note Article 13 of the Human Rights Convention also applies and will be discussed in a future submission 2. Night Flights: Kent County Council’s position on night flights as relate to Gatwick Airport and correspondence with Paul Carter, Leader, Kent County Council regarding the current application 3. Evidence as relates to the above (submitted to the ExA as separate attachments): a. CASE OF HATTON AND OTHERS v. THE UNITED KINGDOM, (Application no. 36022/97), GRAND CHAMBER, European Court of Human Rights b. World Health Organisation Environmental Noise Guidelines c. Kent County Council response to Airports Commission consultation 3 Feb 2015 d. Kent County Council response to UK Airspace Policy Consultation e. Kent County Council submission to Department for Transport consultation on night flights f. Kent County Council policy on Gatwick Airport proposal for a second runway. Need & Operations; Applicant and Public Authority responsibilities pursuant to Case Law Hatton and others v. United Kingdom that shows Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights to apply in cases of aircraft noise. Observations from the Need & Operations Issue Specific Hearing I would like to thank the Examining Authority for running an open and transparent process and allowing me this opportunity to speak. Need & Operations The hearing today has focused on Need & Operations and we have heard a lot of debate from both sides. Leading National Aviation experts have been present, and shared their knowledge of the UK airfreight market. I believe that amidst the debate today it is incumbent on the Applicant to show a pressing social need for their project. It is safe to conclude that few present today will leave this room with clarity on what that pressing social need is, particularly given the concerns raised regarding the reliability and viability of the Applicant’s forecasts and business plan. We have heard a great deal today about: • London Heathrow’s plans for a third runway and the significant increase to UK airfreight capacity that this will deliver • Stanstead’s plans for expansion and the increase to UK airfreight capacity that will ensue • The importance of location • The importance of cost • The relationship between bellyhold and dedicated airfreight in driving the UK airfreight market & trends. We have also heard that: • Airports in the MAG group including East Midlands airport have excess capacity now. Indeed, MAG are clear that they can meet the UK’s airfreight needs for the next thirteen years (evidence provided in a previous submission). What we haven’t heard from the Applicant is an articulation of pressing social need that the National Aviation experts present agree on. Indeed, at this point it is now very unclear to me what need the applicant is seeking to fill. There has been repeated reference that night flights are now out of scope of the Applicants plans (per Isabella Tafur, Barrister for the Applicant). I would request clarity on this point. Are night flights in, or out? If out, can the Examining Authority clarify with the Applicant: • Has the impact been modelled in the Applicant’s forecasts and benefits case? • Is the impact on profitability understood? • Have the investors been informed and have they reviewed the impact to their investment decisions? • Has this change in scope been formalised with the Examining Authority? And • Has the Examining Authority made relevant changes its side to formalise this change in scope? Can the ExA also please clarify from the Applicant in light of their persistent history of misleading the public and local media regarding night flights, what the ATM quotas are that the Applicant is pursuing: • For night flights • For daytime flights for cargo • For daytime flights for passenger flights • For General Aviation Also, the % market share each of the above equates to for the relevant market (i.e. dedicated UK cargo market for cargo flights; UK passenger flight market for passenger flights; and so forth). Human Rights What IS clear is that behind this lack of clarity and clear articulation of pressing social need are Human Rights issues. We have heard today about SHP’s Human Rights as legal owner of the land. What has not yet been discussed are the Human Rights of the residents of Ramsgate and Herne Bay. Under Article 8 of the Human Rights Act: Right to respect for private and family life: 1. Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence 2. There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others. Case Law Hatton and others v. United Kingdom shows Article 8 to apply in cases of aircraft noise. Pursuant to this it is incumbent on the Applicant to demonstrate pressing social need, and the Government and its public authorities to establish proportionality; in other words that that the infringement of human rights is outweighed by the public interest. The infringement on respect for Ramsgate homeowners’ private life and home is clear. This application will result in: - A night time quota of 3028 ATMs per annum (8.3ATMs per night). Based on night hours of 11pm and 7am (8 hours) this quota means at least 1 ATM per hour through the night 365 days a year, from zero today and zero for the last 5 years - A day time quota of 23,340 ATMs per annum (average of 4 ATMs per hour between the hours of 7am and 11pm). That would be one ATM every 15 minutes between 7am and 11pm, 365 days a year, from zero today and zero for the last 5 years - Potentially 83,220 ATMs per annum which equates after night flights to an average of 13.7 ATMs per hour between the hours of 7am and 11pm. That would be one ATM every 4.4 minutes between 7am and 11pm, 365 days a year, from zero today and zero for the last 5 years - Each ATM will create noise over the communities of either Ramsgate or Herne Bay >90 dBA Lmax. The impact of this proposal to our communities will be: • Constant interrupted sleep • Higher levels of ill health and consequential impact on local health services • Constant interruption of children’s lessons at schools; up to four times per hour lesson • Increased risk to personal safety, particularly for those living in the areas that should be classified as PSZ • Loss of income, particularly for those whose jobs rely on tourism • Loss in the value of peoples’ homes • Cost of glazing; roof insulation and other sound-proofing requirements (e.g. blocking chimneys) • To prevent peoples’ enjoyment of their gardens • To force people to live behind closed windows unable to enjoy the sea air, or regulate heat in their homes on hot days and nights. Hatton and others v United Kingdom suggests that the outcome of a lawsuit under Article 8 will reside on whether the Government can be said to have struck a fair balance between those interests (i.e. economic interests of the country) and the conflicting interests of the persons affected by noise disturbances" (§ 122) Conclusion ‘Today’ is the Need & Operation Issue Specific Hearing, week 10 of this resource intensive process. It is currently the only Issue Specific Hearing at which need will be addressed and is therefore crucial for the legal land owner and those of us adversely impacted by this scheme to obtain clarity of what is proposed and what it will mean for us. Today there has been no clear articulation of need by the Applicant that national aviation experts can agree on. There has been no articulation by the Applicant of pressing social need for this Project. Indeed, it is unclear at this point what the scope of this project is. As the audio recordings of today’s events will show, the Applicant has been unclear on need for night flights, unclear on the size, nature and business drivers of the dedicated airfreight market, has no prospective customers or clear demand for its services and has proven itself unable to confirm that they have assessed the viability of their proposed Operations. On the other hand, national aviation experts have been clear that they do not believe the Applicant’s plans to be viable. I would respectfully suggest that it is therefore impossible for the Planning Inspectorate (HMG) to establish economic benefit to the Country of the Applicant’s proposed scheme as it currently stands, or consequently a view of proportionality to justify the infringement of Ramsgate and Herne Bay residents’ human rights under Article 8 of the European Convention for Human Rights. For this same reason, it is also impossible to categorise this application as a NSIP. If this application is to proceed further, I would urge the Examining Authority to request the Applicant to reassess the budget allocated to compensate for the infringement of residents’ human rights and to provide a clear benchmark of their compensation scheme as compared to other NSIP / Infrastructure programmes, in terms of: - Compensation options and amounts on offer - Eligibility criteria and exclusion criteria - Legal requirements and best practices including benchmarking against relevant case law - Timing of payments - Numbers of claimants for each element of the scheme and basis for these estimates.