THANET councillors and officers have begun the long process of digesting the two-inch thick environmental statement for London Manston airport. The weighty document was prepared by consultants Arthur DS Little on behalf of the Wiggins Group that is behind the £14 million civilian airfield development.

The report, which has more than 140 close-typed pages, 134 pages of information tables and much more background information, was produced under the section 106 environmental agreement. It contains Wiggins masterplan for the airfield for the next 20 years.

It will be available for inspection at council offices and public libraries. A public consultation period of up to ten weeks will be held and representations about the document can be made to the council.

Once this process is completed, the document will be used as part of the planning process and will be referred to for any the environmental impact of applications involving the airport or its environs.

Thanet council leader Cllr Richard Nicholson said: “We will take our time studying this working document that features Wiggins projections for the airfield. It looks at known and potential environmental impact issues, air and land traffic, noise pollution and reduction, and is based around 16 hours maximum flying time per day with no night flights.

“We will study this report extremely carefully. I am sure it will be useful and informative.”