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Wildlife

The "Cliffe Hangar": In the Media

 Here is a digest of the way this issue has been covered in the local media, particularly the Medway newspapers, starting from the time the SERAS Report was published:
EditorialLetters
July 2002
  • News breaks of the SERAS Report's option for a new hub airport on the Hoo Peninsula.
  • Medway MPs urge the Government to stop the uncertainty and make a speedy decision.
  • Celebrity Jools Holland (whose home is Cooling Castle) is among those residents on the peninsula shocked at the proposal.
  • Medway Council is united, with all-party opposition to the plan.
(No letters until August)
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August 2002
  • Disckens Country Protection Society launches start of the anti-airport campaign at meeting of more than a thousand people.
  • Facts and figures start to emerge, showing something of the immensity of this undertaking and the vastness of its impact.
  • Sam Lennon (Medway Messenger) forecasts what the scene would be when once the airport opens, calling it "a nightmare".
  • Feature on historic aspects that would be lost, such as listed buildings; also news of the opposition campaign gathering momentum.
  • The Vice-Chairman of the European parliament's Environment Committee believes that the British Government would be unable to put a convincing case for a Cliffe Airport: the European Commission would be "very, very critical".
  • Public meetings planned by Medway Council.
  • Warning tha the Government's questionnaire is "a trap" using misleading questions in the Consultation Document's response form.
  • Bodies buried in churchyards will also have to be moved, exhumed once churchyards are compulsorily purchased.
  • Rare bats are among the threatened wildlife.
  • Claim that the Thames Gateway strategy is being manipulated for big business' benefit.
  • Adding more air capacity increases demand, so even more will be needed, at the expense of homes and nature and worsening transport situation.
  • Horros of destruction, and wrecking "rural splendour".
  • "We will fight this lunacy", say residents.
  • Peace and quiet will be shattered by airliner noise, and house prices will fall.
  • Plan is "a waste of money": a fraction of the amount needed for Cliffe could expand Manston and other existing airports.
  • Why must everything be packed into the South East?
  • Bob Marshall-Andrews QC MP states his commitment to fight the proposed airport after weighing the economic benefits against the environmental impact.
  • Various challenges from residents on a number of issues, such as the RAMSAR agreement, the exclusion of Gatwick from the options short-list, and the impact on residents and wildlife.
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September 2002
  • "At what price?": Medway Council's own newsletter, Medway Matters, includes a centre-pages spread on the background, the issues, the proposal, and the avenues open to residents to have their views heard within the decision-making process.
  • Joan Goddard of the NoAirport@Cliffe Action Group and Cllr Chris Buckwell agree that this proposal is "a stitch-up": the secretive nature of the only public exhibition by the Government, located just about as far away from the target area as possible while still remaining more-or-less in Medway (in fact it was just outside Medway!) shows their true intention to ensure little opportunity for public consultation.
  • Warning to all Medway residents that it will be not only the peninsula that would be affected if this goes ahead—no-one should be complacent.
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October 2002
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November 2002
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