Thames Hub Airport
Thames Hub Airport was a proposed platform-based hub airport located on the Isle of Grain in the Thames Estuary in Kent, whose development has been led by the architect Lord Foster. The idea for the airport was originally included within the Thames Hub integrated infrastructure vision, and the idea of some kind of airport in the Thames Estuary has been discussed since the 1970s. The case for developing the airport as a solution to the question of how the United Kingdom can maintain its global hub aviation status was submitted, alongside many other solutions, to the UK’s Airports Commission in July 2013 by Foster+Partners. In December 2013, the Commission announced its shortlist of proposals for expanding Britain's airports. The Thames Estuary concept was not included on the initial shortlist. In September 2014, the Committee concluded that the Thames Hub proposal had "substantial disadvantages that collectively outweighed its potential benefits and that it therefore did not represent a credible option for shortlisting". They described it as "unfeasibly expensive, highly problematic in environmental terms and would be hugely disruptive for many businesses and communities". It remained off the shortlist. Background Expansion of London’s airports Expanding the capacity of London's airports to meet