KCC says Manston is the short term answer to airport shortage

NEWSFLASH: the real reasons Flybe quit Manston - click HERE

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The county council says it will still object to a Thames Estuary airport. Kent County Council has said a public consulatation into the idea of a major new airport in the Thames Estuary will put an end to the speculatuion over proposal. The scheme has been in the headlines this week after it was revealed it would form part of an inquiry into airport capacity in the South East in March. Alex King, Deputy Leader of Kent County Council said:

“Kent County Council is very pleased that there will be a consultation on the proposed Thames Estuary airport to give everybody interested an opportunity to have their say on record and to put an end to speculation. We are still against the building of a new airport in Kent or Medway. Building a new airport on land or sea in the Thames Estuary will cause significant environment problems, and the case has not been proven that this is the correct solution to the issue. 

We believe that serious consideration also needs to be given to the short and medium term solutions. The building of a new airport will take at least a few years to come to fruitition. Increasing the use of Manston airport could help the government’s initiative to boost airport capacity in the South East in the short term.”

Sittingbourne and Sheppey MP Gordon Henderson has also come out against the idea. He said:

“I have written to David Cameron reminding him that in October 2010 he efectively said the Government had no plans to build an airport in the Thames Estuary to see if this is still the case. I have also joined with other Kent MPs whose constituencies are affected by an airport so we can have a meeting with him. My view is this is not likely to happen. It is a political ploy purely to bolster Boris Johnson’s reputation for his election campaign.

People do start worrying that their house is going to be blighted by the building of an airport and that is my main concern as there are vulnerable people out there who are taken in by this story. All the Government has said is that it will consider all options accept a third runway at Heathrow. There are a minority of people in my constituency who may welcome it because of the jobs but there are wider issues than that. You have to have a balance between introducing jobs to an area and spoiling the quality of life for everybody else.”

kentnews 19th Jan 2012

Boris shoots own foot in sympathy

NEWSFLASH: the real reasons Flybe quit Manston - click HERE

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'Boris Island' airport plan grounded over Johnson's briefing to Telegraph

An artist's impression of Norman Foster's design for a new four-runway airport on the Thames estuary

Downing Street told Boris Johnson on Wednesday that he had killed off any moves towards an airport in the Thames Estuary ahead of the next general election after an announcement by the London mayor was seized on by the Liberal Democrats. 

David Cameron and George Osborne, who have become alarmed by growing business anxiety about their opposition to expanding Heathrow, had indicated they were warm about a new airport which would assume Heathrow's role as a hub.

But the London mayor was told that he had handed a gift to the Lib Dems, who are opposed to any airport expansion in the south-east, when he briefed the Daily Telegraph that Downing Street had signed up to his proposal. A Whitehall source said:

"Boris is not going to get it. Yes to scoping on a new airport, but he won't get it. The way this has plopped out in the Telegraph, no doubt via Boris's team, has given people a chance to kill it."

The Lib Dems will support a consultation by Justine Greening, the transport secretary, on how to maintain a hub, but they will oppose any new airport. A Lib Dem source said:

"We are against airport expansion in the south-east. We are happy to go along with the consultation, but we have a policy which will not change."

Johnson was upbeat on Wednesday evening after he outlined his plans to a meeting of the Conservative 1922 committee.

"We must not count our chickens or over-egg this – to continue with a chicken metaphor – [but] the government is still looking at all the options. But George really gets the point about regeneration and jobs in the Thames estuary and the amazing capacity of a big transport hub to drive Britain's competitiveness for a long time to come."

The proposed airport would be an international hub that could open up new routes to south-east Asia and have capacity for connecting flights. At present, the British aviation industry says the nation is losing out to rivals airports such as Schiphol in Amsterdam and Charles de Gaulle in Paris. The government has ruled out a third runway at Heathrow, as has Labour since leaving power, a current political reality that has been reluctantly accepted by the industry.

Colin Matthews, the chief executive of airports operator BAA, said he was "pleased there was an acknowledgement that there was a need" for more airport capacity, but it would take decades to construct a whole new airport.

"The recognition today is that it matters to the UK economy, to jobs and to growth. There's no reason why any option should be ruled out."

Greening, however, has also ruled out further runways at Gatwick and Stansted in answers to parliamentary questions. Johnson told the BBC:

"You can't go on expecting Britain to compete with France and Germany when we simply can't supply the flights to growth destinations."

Heathrow, he said, was "fundamentally in the wrong place". He said listening to the "Heathrow recidivists" who argue that other options for airport expansion take too long would only lead to paralysis.

In his autumn statement, Osborne indicated the government would consider all options for airport expansion, which he sees as an opportunity for economic regeneration.

The architect Norman Foster has drawn up plans for an airport on the Isle of Grain, the easternmost point of the Hoo peninsula, with four runways and which could handle 150m passengers a year – double the current number passing through Heathrow. It is the latest in a range of proposals dating back decades for the estuary, including a mooted "Boris Island" airport at nearby Shivering Sands.

Aircraft would, however, have to contend with the multitudes of birds that flock in the area – a hazard to aviation and an issue that has brought opposition from environmental groups. The RSPB said it was a vital habitat for wildfowl and wading birds. Balpa, the pilots' union, said it would seek reassurances on the dangers posed by birdstrikes, as well as potential air traffic conflicts with Brussels, Heathrow and London City airports.

Guardian 18th Jan 2012

Cameron shoots everybody in the foot, himself first

NEWSFLASH: the real reasons Flybe quit Manston - click HERE

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How not to make a decision on Boris Island

There is a right way and a wrong way to make decisions on airports and Cameron’s approach would have been destroyed in the courts.  The 2008 Act, and the EU SEA directive, and the Greenpeace caselaw all set out a proper process for making such decisions:

Set out the need for the development and options in a draft aviation NPS;

Carry out an SEA and consultation;

Choose an option and put the NPS to parliament;

Minister makes final decision.

Of course a minister can be minded to change a policy but they can't show predetermination. Announcing support for ‘Boris Island’ before the need had been established, before that site had been shown to be practical or even if there were not much better sites (which they are) would have been a recipe for successful JR.

Yet again Cameron has shown that he is is own worst enemy when it comes to major policy decisions when he ignores the advice of DCLG and DT civil servents.  The rules aren't that complicated - they can be written on the back of an envelope.

Andrew Lainton 17th Jan 2012

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David Cameron to give his provisional support to estuary airport

Cameron is expected to offer his provisional support to Boris’s estuary airport scheme. He is now thought to back the project, though he was initially against it.

The Thames airport proposal will be in the government’s aviation policy consultation that starts in March, though Downing Street says the government will make a final decision on the basis of the consultation process. This announcement may have been intended for earlier in the month, and may have been delayed by doubts by Nick Clegg. The Lib Dems used to have a policy to oppose airport expansion. 

Since we have committed to spend £32 billion on HST, there isn’t a lot of spare money for other projects.

AirportWatch 17th Jan 2012

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Cameron paves the way for new London airport

The Prime Minister is expected to offer his provisional support for a scheme originally proposed by Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London. The Government had planned to announce preliminary backing for the scheme on Jan 3, with feasibility studies beginning in the Spring. The announcement was expected to be linked to plans for a second high-speed rail line as part of the Government’s long-term vision for Britain’s transport infrastructure.

Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, blocked the announcement amid concerns that it was being rushed out and had not been thought through. No 10 sources said a decision on aviation strategy was now due to be announced in March and that “discussions are ongoing”.

The Daily Telegraph understands that Mr Cameron will be supportive of the proposed airport but will make a final decision on the basis of the consultation process. Mr Clegg is said to have an “open mind” over the proposal but is keen to consider the views of environmental campaigners and residents. The Liberal Democrat position is currently to oppose airport expansion.

The ongoing discussions over the airport plan — and Mr Clegg’s intervention over the proposed announcement — have led to Coalition tensions. Senior Tories suspect that Mr Clegg is uneasy about allowing Government backing for the scheme before the election for the Mayor of London as it would provide a boost for Mr Johnson’s campaign.

One senior Conservative source said: “No 10 was all ready to announce the new airport and then at the last minute Nick Clegg stepped in to block it.”

Another Tory source claimed: “It was a purely political act that had nothing to do with the national interest.”

However, a senior Liberal Democrat source said:

“Aviation policy is very sensitive and we didn’t support rushing out an announcement over the New Year. The consultation will almost certainly be launched in March and Nick Clegg does not have a fixed view on the outcome.”

Mr Johnson has advocated building an airport on a man-made island in the Thames Estuary to cope with the growing pressure on other London facilities. He claims that without providing more airport capacity, the capital will lose jobs as businesses relocate elsewhere in Europe.

Environmental campaigners claim it will boost global warming emissions and endanger wildlife.

Mr Johnson has ordered his own detailed review of the plan. He recently said:

“The capital’s airports are full, our runways are rammed and we risk losing jobs to Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Madrid or other European cities should we fail to act. No other city even approaches the volume of passengers handled at London’s airports but we need to start planning for a brand new airport that can help meet the ever-increasing demand for aviation and act as a hub, particularly to the rest of the UK.”

The Prime Minister has refused to allow the expansion of Heathrow on environmental grounds and was previously thought to be lukewarm about the prospect of a new airport. However, both he and George Osborne, the Chancellor, are thought to have become more interested.

Telegraph 17th Jan 2012, Robert Winnett, Political Editor

Online comment:

So let’s look at this decision. Instead of building a third runway at Heathrow at a cost of a few billion pounds, Cameron wants to build a £20 billion airport on the estuary. The total cost of the project is £50 billion when you add in an orbital railway and other infrastructure. And this is somehow better for the environment. In what way? Not in engine emissions.

What this decision is about is that Cameron wanted to keep seats around Heathrow at the last election. Philip Hammond’s constituency is nearby and Justine Greening’s is under the flight path. So the government has decided to spend tens of billions more than is required to save seats around Heathrow. The level of stupidity is beyond limits for this government.

And who will be funding this airport? Since we have committed to spend £32 billion on HST, there isn’t a lot of spare money for other projects. So much for an Oxford education when you study PPE.