Kent MPs call for showdown with Cameron
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Lord Foster's
vision for the airport and transport hub
by Alan
McGuinness
North Kent's MPs have joined
forces to press for an urgent meeting with David Cameron on plans
for a multi-billion pounds airport in the Thames
Estuary.
Tracey Crouch, Mark Reckless and Rehman Chishti - all from
Medway - have signed a letter calling for the face to face
discussions, along with Gordon Henderson, Adam Holloway and Gareth
Johnson, who represent Sittingbourne and Sheppey, Gravesham and
Dartford respectively.
The move comes amid mounting
speculation that the government is set to formally consult on the
plans, which would transform the Medway Towns and North
Kent.
According to the Daily
Telegraph, David Cameron was set to announce preliminary backing
for an airport in North Kent earlier this month.
The announcement of the
consultation would have been linked in with the High Speed 2 rail
announcement, but was put back because it was claimed by Deputy
Prime Minister Nick Clegg it was "being rushed through", according
to the paper.
It was reported the scheme will
be unveiled in March, with the Prime Minister broadly backing the
plans dependent on consultation.
In the letter the MPs call on
the government to look instead at "fully utilising the capacity of
existing airports in the South East", such as Birmingham, which
will be less than an hour away from London when the High Speed 2
line is finished.
The letter states: "The
proposals do not appear to be supported by the public, or indeed by
the aviation industry.
"If any such proposal was to go
ahead it would have an enormous effect on the lives of hundreds of
thousands of residents living in the wider Thames Estuary region
and devastate an area of global environmental
significance."
London Mayor
Boris Johnson wants to build a floating airport in the Thames
Estuary, while architect Lord Foster wants to site one on the Isle
of Grain.
The latter would be the biggest
airport in the world, with its four runways handling 150 million
passengers a year.
The scheme also includes
building a huge barrage and a new rail network system: effectively
an M25 for the railways, skirting London.
An integrated rail station
beneath the passenger terminal would be the UK's busiest - with
300,000 arrivals and departures every day.
In their letter the MPs said
they were "concerned" as to how the government would fund Foster’s
scheme, which has an estimated cost of £50bn.
However, in an exclusive
interview with the KM Group in November, Lord Foster said a number
of private investors would be interested in funding the project,
which he said was "certainly not pie in the sky".
Tuesday, January 24 2012
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