Mayor considers Hoo peninsula in Kent as Thames Estuary airport option

24.10.2010 (BBC)

A proposal to build a major airport on the Hoo peninsula in north Kent is one
of several options being considered by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson.     (map showing location of Hoo)

Mr Johnson wants to increase flight capacity around London without expanding
Heathrow.

He has also been considering building an airport in the Thames Estuary.

A spokesperson for the Mayor said it was vital that a location for extra runway
capacity was found for London to remain one of the leading world cities.

Wintering birds

In 2002, a new airport at Cliffe on the Hoo peninsula was one of several options
being considered by the government for airport expansion in the South East.

However, in December 2003, the government decided to leave Cliffe out of its
airport expansion plans.

The latest proposal for the Hoo peninsula has been put forward by John Olsen,
the British former head of Cathay Pacific.

The site is renowned for its populations of wintering birds, while in summer
it is an important breeding ground for birds such as avocets, marsh harriers,
Mediterranean gulls and little terns.

In a statement on Sunday, Mr Johnson’s spokesperson said: “The Mayor has kickstarted
a debate about the best way to increase airport capacity in and around London
and every extra contribution to that discussion is welcome.

“The Deputy Chairman of Transport for London, Daniel Moylan, is working on a
review that will certainly take Mr Olsen’s proposal into account.

“But whatever conclusion is eventually reached it is vital that a location for
extra runway capacity is found for London to remain one of the leading world cities.”

‘Absolute madness’

Paul Clark, former Labour MP for Gillingham and Rainham, in north Kent, described
the proposal as “absolute madness”.

“The government back in 2002 / 2003 went through a big exercise of commissioning
numerous reports to look at how we coped with the expansion of air demand in the
South East,” he said.

“One of those proposals was exactly this one that seems to have resurrected itself
out on Cliffe.

“The costs involved, let alone environmentally the damage that is done, and the
threat that it would give to the safety of passengers through bird strike and
so on, makes it a very dangerous plan to proceed with.”

Mr Clark urged the government to “do a U-turn” and accept that Heathrow “is really
the only practical solution to expanding our hub airport… to accommodate the
demands of both business and pleasure aviation requirements in the future”.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-11615839

see also
“Boris Island” airport   in the Thames Estuary – petition
 
London Mayor Boris Johnson is still keen to push on with plans for this crazy
scheme, for a massive 5 runway airport on recaimed land.   It would have serious
consequences for wildlife and ruin irreplaceable habitat for migrating birds.  
Suitable substitute areas are not available for them. People in north Kent are
very worried about the dreadful prospect of a mega-airport on their  doorstep,
so Medway Council and Kent County  Council have started a campaign to get opposition
to any plans to build this monster.   It is not a matter of either expanding Heathrow,
or having Boris Island, or indeed having any other runways at London airports.  
They should all be opposed, strenuously.

Sign the petition against the airport at Stop Estuary Airport petition

See the RSPB statement on the proposed airport

And the Stop the Estuary Airport campaign     http://sites.medway.gov.uk/airport/

“Boris Island” airport   in the Thames Estuary – petition
 
London Mayor Boris Johnson is still keen to push on with plans for this crazy
scheme, for a massive 5 runway airport on recaimed land.   It would have serious
consequences for wildlife and ruin irreplaceable habitat for migrating birds.  
Suitable substitute areas are not available for them. People in north Kent are
very worried about the dreadful prospect of a mega-airport on their  doorstep,
so Medway Council and Kent County  Council have started a campaign to get opposition
to any plans to build this monster.   It is not a matter of either expanding Heathrow,
or having Boris Island, or indeed having any other runways at London airports.  
They should all be opposed, strenuously.

Sign the petition against the airport at Stop Estuary Airport petition

And the Stop the Estuary Airport campaign     http://sites.medway.gov.uk/airport/
 

see also

 

BBC

2.7.2010

Medway Council leader puts anti-airport plan to new MPs


Dunlin over the Thames Estuary
The environment off the Hoo peninsula includes protected wildlife habitats 

The leader of Medway Council has written to new MPs to ask them to support a
campaign opposing a planned £40bn airport in the Thames estuary.

London Mayor Boris Johnson is considering building an airport several miles off
the Essex and Kent coasts.

The RSPB, Medway Council and Kent County Council have previously said the plan
would “devastate the environment”.

Medway Council leader Rodney Chambers said new MPs could provide more support
for the campaign.

‘Pie in sky’

He said: “Now that we’ve had a general election, and there are a number of new
Members of Parliament, it is a good opportunity to seek even more support than
we already have in our campaign.

“Today, I am writing to the MPs who represent those areas that would be affected
by an estuary airport to encourage them to join me in opposing this pie-in-the-sky
scheme.”

He said the plan would turn parts of Medway and Kent into a concrete jungle.

The airport would also disrupt the environment off the Hoo peninsula, which included
protected sites that were used by hundreds of thousands of migrating birds, he
added.

Mr Johnson has opposed the expansion of Heathrow Airport but has said “further
runway capacity” is vital and regards “Boris Island airport” – as the Thames estuary
plan has become known – as a viable solution.

Engineers have said the airport could accommodate possibly up to six runways.


       
(see website for video clip)

Politicians in Medway and Kent have objected to the environmental impact of the
airport.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10493323

 

 

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