Residents question Airport development plans at Government Inquiry

I attended the first session of the Joint Area Action Plan (JAAP) Examination today at the Civic Centre. JAAP is Rochford and Southend's plan for future expansion of the Airport, as well as Employment and Econmic growth and environmental proposals.

Chaired by a Government Inspector and attended by representatives from both Rochford and Southend Councils, and Interested parties, including Friends of the Earth, Residents, and Cogent (the Developer behind the Coombes Farm proposals), the purpose was to help the Inspector come to a decision on the "soundness" of the JAAP proposals.  This includes legal compliance to various Planning Laws and Environmental regulations.  The public were permitted to attend, though not speak, and it was a great opportunity to see how our Planning process works and, even more interestingly, democracy in action.

My initial reason for attending was to hear what Cogent had to say, particularly interested as I am about any developments on the green belt land that is Coombes Farm and which Cogent remain keen to develop for housing.  However, I found the whole session interesting and many facts were disclosed that dealt with some of the myths and misunderstandings that always seem to accompany major developments of this nature.

Very early on the impact of any new Airport at the Isle of Grain was discussed.  The Airport Commission will decide next Summer on where future Airport growth will take place and, if Kent is chosen, it's likely to lead to Southend's closure.  The Inspector therefore questioned whether the progress of JAAP should be suspended until the outcome of the Airport Commission's report is known.  Both Rochford and Southend Councils were adamant that their proposals were well developed (both have had their local development plans or "core strategies" as they're formally known signed off by the Government) and did not believe a Thames Estuary Airport would be chosen over Southend.  They also made the point that JAAP was not solely about the Airport but also to bring Saxon Business Park to fruition, as well as other developments.

Representatives from Friends of the Earth ("FOE") and Residents spoke throughout the session about poor communication from the Councils about the JAAP Proposals and restricted opportunities for the Public to participate in the decision making process. Whilst attention was drawn to the "Airports Consultative Committee" as the forum for the Public (as well as Councillors and other interested parties) to contribute to issues arising from Airport operation and development, FOE and Residents advised that some had been barred from participation due to being categorized as "vexatious" complainers, even though the number of complaints were minimal.  FOE pointed out that the Campaign Group "SAEN" (Stop Airport Expansion Now) had been prevented from joining the Committee altogether.

The issue of "Compulsory Purchases" was raised by one resident concerned about the possible loss of her home adjacent to Jubilee Country Park.  Rochford's Head of Planning, Mr.Scrutton, assured her that "over my dead body will Jubilee Park be bought by the Airport" and a member from Southend's planning team advised that there was no provision or reference to compulsory purchases in the JAAP proposals.  This last comment caused some uproar from some members of the Committee and Audience who were adamant that JAAP did include such references. The Inspector, however, noted that this issue was really beyond his terms of reference.

The threat of pollution, in particular to the River Roach, was a great concern and participating Residents drew attention to instances where the Airport had already been responsible for sewage deposits directly into the River.  The Councils, however, claimed that the Environment Agency had not flagged up any problems and the water quality was regularly monitored.  From my viewpoint, I felt FOE and Residents made a strong argument on this point, especially as the Airport wants to grow the numbers from 2 to 5m passenger per annum eventually. (On this point it's worth noting, and the Inspector made a specific mention of this, that JAAP only deals with a possible growth to 2m pa.  If the Airport grows to a point where 2m looks likely to be exceeded, it's back to the drawing board with the planning process).

Finally, and the whole reason for me attending, Cogent's contribution.  There will be a later session dedicated to Transport issues and this is Cogent's theme.  They do not believe the JAAP plans can be sound unless there is better access to the Airport from the East of the District.  The fact that this would also provide better access to their wished for development at Coombes Farm is entirely coincidental, of course.  At present Coombes Farm falls outside of the JAAP area and Cogent also, funnily enough, believe it should fall within it as it would probably increase their chances of obtaining a review of planning permission.