Thanet Greens to Meet Manston Airport Owners

Thanet Green Party branch officers will be meeting the owners of the former Manston Airport on Friday 22 January to discuss plans for the development of the site.

The Green Party supports a mixed industrial, leisure and commercial development on the site, which it feels offers the best opportunities to generate the substantial variety of jobs and training opportunities that Thanet so desperately needs. However, Thanet Greens wish to emphasise the need for any development to be sustainable and environmentally friendly, including building in high levels of insulation, renewable power generation and water re-use technologies, which in turn will make the site cheaper to run and will help create the sort of ‘green jobs’ that will be needed in future. They also hope to persuade the owners to develop nature and food growing areas on the site.

A Green priority for discussion is an effective public transport system between the site and the Thanet towns, which is vital to enable local people to work at the site without generating massive extra traffic on inadequate roads. The Greens are opposed to the damaging and totally unnecessary Parkway station which is proposed to be built to at Cliffsend, and believe direct links to the Thanet towns will work more effectively.

Green Party Co-ordinator, Ian Driver, said “I am looking forward to meeting the Manston owners. I’m very optimistic about the role the development could play in tackling Thanet’s deep seated problems of deprivation, unemployment and low pay. The transformation of the site into a thriving mixed use area could create hundreds   of desperately needed jobs and provide training and business opportunities for local people.

“I also believe that if managed sensitively, especially with regard to its environmental impact, the proposed Stone Hill Park could become an example of best practice in sustainable development which could set new standards for others to follow.” Driver added “Part of the reason that I welcome the chance to have a full and frank discussion with the owners is to ensure we can hold them to account over their development and management of the former airport, and to make it clear that we will speak out if things are not right.  But equally we hope to establish a strong relationship with the owners, which will allow us influence the sensitive development of this large strategic site for the benefit of local people and our environment”.  

promoted and publishes by Ian Driver 45 Sea View Rd CT101BX on behalf of Ian Driver and Andrew Jefferson Green Party candidates in the Newington by-election.