KentOnline

bannermobile

News

Sport

Business

What's On

Advertise

Contact

Other KM sites

CORONAVIRUS WATCH KMTV LIVE SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTERS LISTEN TO OUR PODCASTS LISTEN TO KMFM
SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE
News

Thames Estuary airport plans set to take off

By: Danny Boyle

Published: 11:10, 30 December 2011

Updated: 06:50, 18 January 2012

A fierce opponent of a Thames Estuary airport has vowed to fight all the way to the top as controversial plans take a step forward.

Medway Council leader Cllr Rodney Chambers wants to work with the Towns' MPs to secure a crisis meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron or Chancellor George Osborne.

Mr Cameron was set to announce preliminary backing for a huge airport potentially off the Kent coast - which would dwarf the size of Heathrow - earlier this month, according to a national newspaper.

Cllr Rodney Chambers, leader of Medway Council

It follows plans put forward by both London Mayor Boris Johnson and world-renowned architect Lord Foster for airports on different sites around Kent.

The announcement 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.

mpu1

Now it is believed the scheme will be unveiled in March, with the Prime Minister broadly backing the plans dependent on consultation.

Cllr Chambers, pictured right, said: “We tried meeting with Boris Johnson and we were fobbed off with his acolytes.

“We should use the MPs to secure a meeting with George Osborne and the Prime Minister.

“I’ve no doubt that those affected by this will be ready to fight against this proposal as they did 10 years ago. If there’s going to be a battle then so be it.”

Don't dismiss airport as 'pie in sky' - KentOnline blogs

However, county-based campaigning organisation Protect Kent welcomed the move.

Campaigns manager Andrew Ogden said: "While our views on this consultation may appear to contradict our normal stance, we anticipate that this opportunity to share all of the facts and figures behind these proposals will expose them as the futile schemes they are.

"Together with other campaigning and environmental groups, we will be presenting our case against these airports in response to the consultation. We will also be calling for a referendum to be held amongst all residents likely to be impacted by these proposals, both sides of the estuary."

Mayor of London Boris Johnson

London Mayor Boris Johnson, pictured left, wants to build a floating airport in the Thames Estuary - dubbed Boris Island.

mpu2

And plans were announced in November by renowned architect Lord Foster for a massive hub airport off the Hoo Peninsula, taking 150m passengers each year.

The scheme involves building the hub airport - with twice the capacity of Heathrow - together with a huge barrage and a new rail network system: effectively an M25 for the railways, skirting London.

If built, it would the 24-hour hub would have four runways, each 4km long.

An integrated rail station beneath the passenger terminal would be the UK’s busiest - with 300,000 arrivals and departures every day.

More by this author

sticky

© KM Group - 2024