FRESH LOOK AT AIRPORTS

In a time of rising sea levels, in a year of record bird migration, in a month that saw the South East isolated by fog (as every year) Boris wants £50billion to build an airport hub in the Thames estuary!  Often referred to as London’s third airport (fourth if you include Stanstead, fifth if you include Luton) it is of course Great Britain’s much needed national hub we are talking about.  The suggestion of moving the UK’s key international gateway further away from 99% of the British population is a very good reason to ditch, immediately, the estuary plan.

Currently 80% of rail and air infrastructure investment, four out of every five pounds invested by the taxpayer, is spent in the South East. This imbalance also needs to addressed – a fresh look at siting Britain’s major airport could be the starting point. The primary aim of any capital investment must be to build an international hub that can compete with Amsterdam, Paris and Frankfurt with high speed links to all the UK major centres of population.  This represents an exciting challenge that could establish Europe’s key gateway to the Americas, the Far East, India,  Australia, etc. at the heart of Britain.  By treating the project as Britain’s primary international airport rather than an additional London airport opens exciting new possibilities.

There exists the opportunity to design a 21^st century solution, achieved quicker than Boris’s fantasy island, delivered for less than £50billion, the creation of much needed long term jobs outside the South East, a truly world class facility for travellers and a focus for further long term inward investment.