AN environmental campaigner has called for Southend Airport to close.

Jon Fuller, from South East Essex Friends of the Earth said Southend Airport’s agreement to bring 13 new routes to Essex and 750 new jobs will cause mayhem on the roads and increase pollution.

He claims the new deal will make residents’ lives a “horrible existence” and said news of the deal had ruined his day.

Mr Fuller said: “In my opinion they should just close Southend Airport.

“We have known for a long time about the airport’s plans to expand beyond the one million passenger mark, but this is very disappointing.

“The increased pollution, green house gasses and more cars congesting the roads around the airport is just going to make things so much worse for the people who live in this area.

“Offering more flights outside of this area does not benefit Southend or Rochford.

“The councils are not helping our local economy, they are just creating jobs for more people in Amsterdam and Alicante.

“This airport is a huge burden on our community.

“In reality we need more housing for people in this area and there are so many safety issues surrounding continuing to expand.

“The idea that 750 jobs can be considered good I do not think can stand up.

“Every year the aviation industry loses around £180million, which equates to the loss of 7,800 jobs.

Denise Rossiter, chief executive of Essex Chambers of Commerce agreed the airport’s expansion could cause a rise in congestion on the roads around Southend, and the deal may not be completely positive for the community.

She said: “We do have concerns as to whether the local road networks will be able to cope with the additional traffic that this increase in flights will undoubtedly bring.

“There are already regular instances of major delays on the A127 without this traffic and we will need to see major investment in improving our local infrastructure.”