Thames estuary airport plan is completely wrong, council’s Cabinet says
A Thames estuary airport would be too far from London, too close to a major liquid natural gas port and could lead to the need for a new railway station in the capital, a report states.
The report, Thames Estuary Airport – Feasibility Review, was agreed by Medway Council’s Cabinet on Tuesday, 5 January and will now go before Full Council.
It looks at the Mayor of London’s Feasibility Study into his pie in the sky scheme and points out major areas where the airport plan fails.
For instance, it shows that the airport, which he wants to build as a replacement to Heathrow, would be some 60 miles from London.
This would be like moving Manchester’s airport to Leeds, Birmingham’s runway to Milton Keynes or picking up the Bristol International Airport and placing it on the other side of Cardiff.
In addition to this, an estuary airport would be in an area where aircraft would be 12 times more at risk of bird strike than at any other major UK airport and would be close to Thamesport – where ships unload their cargoes of Liquid Natural Gas.
The report to Cabinet also points out that while a new high-speed rail service would need to be built, a constraint to this would be St Pancras, where there is little space for more domestic or international services to be added.
This could lead to the need for a new train station in central London – significantly adding to the estimated £40 billion cost of the estuary airport.
The report points out that the airport plan would cause environmental destruction by causing harm to Sites of Special Scientific Interest and other areas used by hundreds of thousands of migrating birds annually.
And it states that a new airport would encourage more air travel and that the construction of the major roads and rail links needed would cause significant harm to Medway’s landscape.
The report adds that there would be increased pressure for more development in the area and points out that the mayor’s feasibility study does not show how people in Medway would get to the airport without going by train via Ebbsfleet.
If the airport plan did ever get off the ground, this oversight would lead to a significant increase in the number of local car journeys in Medway and north Kent adding to congestion and pollution.
In addition to all these factors, the report points out that Kent International Airport at Manston has one of the longest runways in Europe which could be connected to the already existing high speed train service for a fraction of the price.
At this afternoon’s Cabinet meeting members asked Medway Council’s officers to contact Douglas Oakervee, the author of the Mayor of London’s feasibility study, to advise him that any justification for a new airport should only be considered once detailed studies of the transport infrastructure to London and other areas had taken place.
They also want Mr Oakervee to clarify the routes of road and rail links detailed in his report.
And they have asked officers to draw to Mr Oakervee’s attention the presence of the Liquid Natural Gas import facilities at nearby Thamesport
The report follows news that the leaders of all of Medway Council’s groups are to go to London’s City Hall to meet Deputy Mayor Kit Malthouse so that they can explain to him why an airport should not be built in the estuary.
And it comes after the launch of a campaign and an online petition last year by Medway Council, Kent County Council and the RSPB. To sign the petition go to www.stopestuaryairport.co.uk
Rodney Chambers, the Leader of Medway Council, said: “This report to Cabinet shows exactly what we already knew – that the Mayor of London’s plans for an estuary airport are completely pie in the sky.
“His feasibility study has not taken into account so many things such as the distance it would be from London and whether passengers or airlines would actually want this, it has ignored the fact that there is a port importing a huge quantity of Liquid Natural Gas everyday and has made only a very arbitrary study of the transport links needed.
“I urge as many people as possible to sign our petition and help us stop this ill thought out airport.”
