If Lydd airport were a Carlsberg advert...

...it would probably be the most useless airport in the world. When it's not masquerading as a mid-90s rave venue, Lydd serves 5,000 passengers a year - but wants to expand to 500,000.

There's just two obstacles in the way of the airport's meglomania - Dungeness nuclear power station and Dungeness RSPB sactuary - both of which are objecting to any increase in air passengers. The RSPB reserve is concerned about the bird population being disturbed by low-flying aircraft; the power station about the Kent population getting covered in toxic waste should a pilot veer off course.

Lydd's future is being decided on the 30th of January, when the Tory-controlled council will vote on whether to allow expansion. On the surface, this should be a simple decision - Tory national policy opposes airport expansion in the South-East - but the land around Lydd is owned by the council, who stand to make rather a lot of cash were it to expand. Is that the whiff of self-interest I smell?

The local campaign groups, Keep the Marsh Special Alliance (KMSA) and Lydd Airport Action Group (LAAG) are fighting the expansion, and together with the RSPB have collected 10,000 signatures against the mad-capped scheme. The airport has a similar petition, but only 497 people have signed it...

Local groups are calling for people to join them on the 30th, so if you live nearby, who not pop down and join in?

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