New Thames Estuary airport 'easily affordable'
A new four-runway airport on the Isle of Grain in north Kent would need up to £45bn of net government spending over nine years but is "easily affordable", it was today claimed, as Boris Johnson set out his plan to solve Britain's aviation crisis.
By Nathalie Thomas, and Peter Dominiczak
The Mayor of London backed a new airport in the inner Thames Estuary which could open in 2029, as he attacked ministers for "sitting around like puddings" and doing "nothing" as rival cities abroad build vast airports in an attempt to win a greater slice of global trade. Mr Johnson is submitting three proposals to a Government-appointed Airports Commission, although he suggested a development on the Isle of Grain would strike the best balance between economic benefits and reducing the negative effects of aviation on local communities and the environment. The plans, to be submitted this week, also include transforming Stansted "out of all recognition" and a new airport built on an artificial island in the outer Thames Estuary off the Kent coast - a project dubbed "Boris Island" after it received early backing from the Mayor. Britain has "squandered decades" by failing to make a decision over where to build new runways in the South East, Mr Johnson claimed. That indecision means "other countries are eating our lunch" when it comes to growing business and connections with the rest of the world, he warned. In addition to building a new airport to the east of London by 2029, the Mayor proposes that the Government spends £15bn of taxpayers' money to buy Heathrow, close the airport and regenerate the area by building up to 100,000 new homes. However, Daniel Moylan, the Mayor's chief adviser on aviation, admitted it could take up to 25 years to completely regenerate the area around Heathrow. Related Articles
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Mr Johnson on Monday fired the first shot in what is likely to become an increasingly bitter battle over the future of aviation in this country, as Heathrow prepares to publish its proposals for expansion tomorrow. Heathrow will also present the Airports Commission, led by former Financial Services Authority boss Sir Howard Davies, with several options where it could build a third runway, and eventually even a fourth. The Mayor's camp argued that the eventual cost to the taxpayer of expanding Heathrow is unlikely to be vastly better than the price tag for a brand-new hub airport, which would have a "trivial" impact on the local population by comparison. Extra surface transport links would need to be built to accommodate a four-runway Heathrow, Mr Moylan said - a burden that would fall on the taxpayer. A new hub would require £4bn-£5bn of net government spend per year between 2019 and 2028  -  a period when it is proposed the taxpayer will also have to pay out for the proposed High Speed 2 rail project. But backers say the Thames Estuary airport would be sold as a "going concern" to private investors, while the taxpayer could also recoup money through the sale of land around Heathrow to housing developers. "It [a new hub airport] is certainly affordable in the context of Government expenditure of £700bn per annum," Mr Moylan said. The Isle of Grain airport would be located on agricultural land next to the Thames Estuary. A new high-speed rail line would have to be built to transport passengers from central London to the airport in less than half an hour and the plans include extending the Crossrail project from Abbey Wood to reach the hub. The M25 would also need to be "enhanced" while the airport could be connected to train services from the Midlands and northern England by the proposed HS2 route. According to an investigation carried out by Transport for London, the Isle of Grain airport would support 388,000 jobs on the whole, including 134,000 directly at the airport, and permanently add 0.5pc per annum to GDP by improving connectivity for UK businesses. The airport would initially handle 90m passengers year but eventually double that number would pass through its doors. About 31,500 people would be affected by noise from the Isle of Grain hub compared to 766,000 at Heathrow at present. Mr Johnson said the debate on runway expansion had been a difficult issue for "all sorts of leaders" and "nobody has grasped it". "Why don't we get on with it?" he said. "I simply want to exhort people in this Government to do something ... You can't endlessly push this into the long grass." The Mayor has repeatedly clashed with the Prime Minister David Cameron and George Osborne, the Chancellor, over the issue of air capacity. The Government was last year accused of kicking the debate into the long grass by announcing a commission to discuss potential solutions, which will not deliver its final findings until 2015. Mr Johnson said expanding Heathrow would be "nuts" and also discounted a "dual hub" solution, involving an extra runway at Gatwick, which would do "absolutely little or nothing to increase connectivity," the Mayor added. Transport
Nathalie Thomas "
Peter Dominiczak "
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