This day has been a long time coming. Even back when the old Lydd airport was bought up in 2001 with the expectation of future expansion, it looked like we would end up striving to safeguard one of this country's most remarkable wildlife sites - Dungeness.
Racing down to Folkestone on High Speed 1, skirting the edge of our Rainham Marshes nature reserve, I can’t help thinking that Folkestone (where I’m heading for the kick off of the public inquiry) is remarkably well served for transport links back into the UK and onward to Europe. Where better is there in the country to be able to choose train over plane? Life is about choices and today the process of deciding if Lydd airport (London Ashford International as it is currently known) will be able to expand gets underway.
The public inquiry is a big deal, and you can read some of the background to the case here and, here, in today’s Independent. The RSPB team alongside colleagues in Natural England have painstakingly prepared our case for the defence of nature, defence of one of the most significant wildlife sites in the world. Over the coming weeks our case, that of the airport and the range of issues raised by concerned organisations and individuals will be heard in an open public inquiry before an inspector who will, in due course, come to a view.
Here's the venue
We’ve been in thick of the campaign to ensure that this public inquiry went ahead – after the local authority, Shepway District Council approved the planning applications against the advice of Natural England and their own planning officers, the goal was to get the inquiry in place, to have the application ‘called in’ in formal terms.
So the piles of papers have been assembled, the arguments marshalled the defence of nature is about to get underway.
But not really today.
Arriving at the Civic Centre there was a small number of people gathered with banners and knots of hunched figures (it was a raw, grey morning) talked earnestly into cameras and microphones. I got drawn into a phone-in on radio Kent.
Inside – bit of a disappointing turnout, even the inspector noticed. There was some comment about the poor public notice given of the inquiry others gave the view that holding it in the middle of Folkestone made it hard for the local people most directly affected by the proposed airport expansion would find it hard to get into the middle of the town. The inspector was prepared to consider a session on Romney Marsh to help address this. I suspect it was more to do with today being a short session prior to the inspector heading off on site visits.
But today’s short session was about listing the runners and riders who will appear at the inquiry when it gets into the meat of the issue from next Tuesday. And sorting out the house keeping – not you would think too much of an issue, but much remains to be sorted out, will the inquiry be webcast? What facilities would be available? Currently there is no power source for laptops in the council chamber, will it be fixed, or will there be a laptop-charging scramble at each break?
For a while, it looked like there was no room for objectors to use between sessions, but the appellant (the airport developer) had one – that’s been sorted, balance has been restored. But it was that sort of day.
The real business starts next Tuesday.
In the corridors and corners afterwards the knots of people engaged in earnest conversation re-formed. We passed round a copy of the Independent and talked tactics – can’t tell you about those, otherwise I’d have to lock you in a cupboard until after the inquiry. Meeting up with the people who will give evidence, the local people who are giving up huge amounts of their time to prepare and deliver their objections – I was proud to be amongst them.
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