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25th October 2002                                                                                                            Cliffel02

The airport development at Cliffe would affect the whole of Thanet with the creation of large areas of mudflats which could lead to the deterioration of beaches. This would affect tourism and could cause further unemployment and uncertainty.

Under European law, for any major development, there should be environmental compensation of three times the area of land taken.

The report commissioned by the Government, "North Kent Marshes Ecological Study" (in conjunction with the Cliffe Airport consultation paper), suggested that the land to be used by the Cliffe Airport development should be compensated by creating replacement mudflats. The area of land nominated is that between Reculver and Birchington on the North Kent Coast, extending across the marshes south to the existing Stodmarsh Special Protection Area, and east along the river Stour to Sandwich.

The total replacement area is 35km², which still falls short of the total land take at Cliffe (estimated at 97km² when all the ancillary land is included). It is a considerable area of land that effectively cuts off Margate and Ramsgate from the rest of Kent, preventing any development to the west.

The estimated cost of the compensation scheme is £230m, which has not been added to the cost of the development. It is likely to be a considerable underestimation. For example, land value is assumed to be £2500/ acre and compensation for loss of property and livelihood has been guestimated at a mere £20m.

The paper makes no suggestion of where the rest of the compensation land would be obtained.

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