Wednesday, September 24, 2008

London Island Airport. Good Idea!

Boris Johnson has commissioned a feasibility study for the building of a large airport on an artificial island in the Thames estuary. It would be an international hub with a fast connection to central London and ten or more runways that could be used round the clock. This is the kind of grand vision that is needed not the piece meal extensions of the existing grubby and polluting airports that serve London and the South East. Coming in and taking off over the North Sea, planes could fly 24 hours a day as there would be no night time restrictions because of noise pollution. I've stayed in Denmark Hill and had to use ear plugs to sleep because from 4.0 am onwards jets were roaring over at the rate of 2 per minute. Denmark Hill is about 40 miles from Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton and Stanstead. Pity the poor buggers who live closer to any of those sorry places. The Island Hub will replace them all.
The Hub will happen and like the Channel Tunnel we'll wonder why we didn't do it sooner. It has of course its opponents. Prominent amongst these is the BAA who own Heathrow, Gatwick et al. They are making the same kind of noises as the ferry companies made when they tried to block the tunnel project. Dont worry about them Boris; just get on with it.

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