Whoops, sorry just seen that Chris Monk has already posted this news - see following link.
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=79400&highlight=dungeness
Article in today's Independent
Oldest bird reserve threatened by plan to expand airport By Barrie Clement, Transport Editor
Published: 26 February 2007
Plans for a huge airport expansion on the south-eastern tip of Kent are threatening the oldest reserve under the management of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Businessman, Sheikh Fahad al-Athel, is proposing a huge expansion of the small airport near the village of Lydd.
Mr Athel is the majority shareholder of the airport, which lies at the edge of the internationally renowned and ecologically unusual Dungeness nature reserve. In winter it hosts about 60 species of birds such as goldeneye, smew and bittern.
Mr Athel wants to extend the runway and build a new terminal to increase the number of passengers using the aerodrome 100-fold - from fewer than 5,000 a year to half a million. Eventually he hopes two million passengers will use the airport.
The single landing strip with its small buildings has already changed its name from Lydd airport to "London Ashford" in anticipation of its proposed status as a regional airport. The airfield, which currently takes only light aircraft and small executive jets, is more than 70 miles from the capital with few transport links apart from a minor road.
The 75-year-old reserve is fully protected by British and European ornithological legislation. It sits on flat marshland and shingle banks in the shadow of the nuclear power stations at Dungeness. Adjacent to the 1,000-hectare site are two military firing ranges, although the intermittent crackle of small-arms fire fails to deter the birdlife.
The bleakness of the area, however, belies the rich variety of wildlife to which it is home. Bob Gomes, manager of the reserve, believes larger aircraft would have a "huge" impact on the birds, especially in winter when the area plays host to more than 120,000 birds.
Mr Gomes believes larger aircraft and more frequent flights could have a serious impact on flocks of lapwing and golden plover. He says that the scheme would also blight the society's plans for creating new habitats and improving existing ones because the airport's owners could object.
Under regulations imposed by the Civil Aviation Authority, the airport would have a duty to employ bird-scaring techniques to minimise the threat of bird-strikes on the jet engines. The society argues that using scarers on the edge of a legally protected bird sanctuary is "ludicrous".
The reserve occupies the largest area of foreland shingle in Europe and therefore attracts an unusual range of fauna, including colonies of the rare great crested newt. It also home to a number of delicate lichens which could be destroyed by jet exhaust fumes, the RSPB says.
Understandably local residents regard themselves as the most important species which should be protected from Mr Athel's ambitions.
On Saturday, the airport gave residents in the area a taste of what might be to come. A 140-seater Boeing 737-300 took off, landed and flew round Lydd to try to allay the fears of protesters. But Louise Barton of the Lydd Airport Action Group claimed that membership had risen as the plane continued its test manoeuvres.
But the airport believes that the Lydd scheme is the most environmentally friendly solution to runway and airspace congestion in south-east England. "Telling people they cannot fly on business or holiday is not the answer," said Zaher Deir, managing director.
Protesters have until 5 March to lodge opposition.
The species at risk
* The 1,000-hectare bird sanctuary on the Dungeness peninsula is 75 years old - the RSPB's oldest - and is its largest in the South-east.
* The site is the largest shingle formation of its kind in Europe.
* Around 60 bird species breed there.
* A roost of 90,000 gulls has been recorded on nearby Romney Sands. Between 5,000 and 6,000 lapwing and about 2,000 golden plover winter in the Dungeness area.
* Almost 28,500 people visited the sanctuary between April 2005 and March 2006.
* It hosts three of the United Kingdom's five rarest bumblebees.
* There are 600 plant species on the site including the critically endangered cudweed, which is found in only one other place in the UK mainland.
* Unusual lichens that are highly sensitive to pollution grow in the area.
* There are colonies of the rare and protected great crested newt.
http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/wildlife/article2305511.ece
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=79400&highlight=dungeness
Article in today's Independent
Oldest bird reserve threatened by plan to expand airport By Barrie Clement, Transport Editor
Published: 26 February 2007
Plans for a huge airport expansion on the south-eastern tip of Kent are threatening the oldest reserve under the management of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Businessman, Sheikh Fahad al-Athel, is proposing a huge expansion of the small airport near the village of Lydd.
Mr Athel is the majority shareholder of the airport, which lies at the edge of the internationally renowned and ecologically unusual Dungeness nature reserve. In winter it hosts about 60 species of birds such as goldeneye, smew and bittern.
Mr Athel wants to extend the runway and build a new terminal to increase the number of passengers using the aerodrome 100-fold - from fewer than 5,000 a year to half a million. Eventually he hopes two million passengers will use the airport.
The single landing strip with its small buildings has already changed its name from Lydd airport to "London Ashford" in anticipation of its proposed status as a regional airport. The airfield, which currently takes only light aircraft and small executive jets, is more than 70 miles from the capital with few transport links apart from a minor road.
The 75-year-old reserve is fully protected by British and European ornithological legislation. It sits on flat marshland and shingle banks in the shadow of the nuclear power stations at Dungeness. Adjacent to the 1,000-hectare site are two military firing ranges, although the intermittent crackle of small-arms fire fails to deter the birdlife.
The bleakness of the area, however, belies the rich variety of wildlife to which it is home. Bob Gomes, manager of the reserve, believes larger aircraft would have a "huge" impact on the birds, especially in winter when the area plays host to more than 120,000 birds.
Mr Gomes believes larger aircraft and more frequent flights could have a serious impact on flocks of lapwing and golden plover. He says that the scheme would also blight the society's plans for creating new habitats and improving existing ones because the airport's owners could object.
Under regulations imposed by the Civil Aviation Authority, the airport would have a duty to employ bird-scaring techniques to minimise the threat of bird-strikes on the jet engines. The society argues that using scarers on the edge of a legally protected bird sanctuary is "ludicrous".
The reserve occupies the largest area of foreland shingle in Europe and therefore attracts an unusual range of fauna, including colonies of the rare great crested newt. It also home to a number of delicate lichens which could be destroyed by jet exhaust fumes, the RSPB says.
Understandably local residents regard themselves as the most important species which should be protected from Mr Athel's ambitions.
On Saturday, the airport gave residents in the area a taste of what might be to come. A 140-seater Boeing 737-300 took off, landed and flew round Lydd to try to allay the fears of protesters. But Louise Barton of the Lydd Airport Action Group claimed that membership had risen as the plane continued its test manoeuvres.
But the airport believes that the Lydd scheme is the most environmentally friendly solution to runway and airspace congestion in south-east England. "Telling people they cannot fly on business or holiday is not the answer," said Zaher Deir, managing director.
Protesters have until 5 March to lodge opposition.
The species at risk
* The 1,000-hectare bird sanctuary on the Dungeness peninsula is 75 years old - the RSPB's oldest - and is its largest in the South-east.
* The site is the largest shingle formation of its kind in Europe.
* Around 60 bird species breed there.
* A roost of 90,000 gulls has been recorded on nearby Romney Sands. Between 5,000 and 6,000 lapwing and about 2,000 golden plover winter in the Dungeness area.
* Almost 28,500 people visited the sanctuary between April 2005 and March 2006.
* It hosts three of the United Kingdom's five rarest bumblebees.
* There are 600 plant species on the site including the critically endangered cudweed, which is found in only one other place in the UK mainland.
* Unusual lichens that are highly sensitive to pollution grow in the area.
* There are colonies of the rare and protected great crested newt.
http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/wildlife/article2305511.ece
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This really can't go ahead though, Dungeness is a completely unique area and is beautiful in it's own way.
