London assembly member calls for Boris Island review

Baroness Victoria Borwick, a Conservative member of the London assembly, has called for plans to build a new London airport off the north Kent coast to be looked at again.

A high profile member of the London assembly has said that she wants the idea of an airport off the north Kent coast to be reviewed and looked at again.

Baroness Victoria Borwick has claimed that all the possible options need to be looked at to ensure that London remains a global player in the world economy, including building a new floating airport off the north Kent coast.

The Conservative assembly member said: “Sixty per cent of the delays at Heathrow are caused by jets circling over London.

“They do this for a cumulative total of 55 hours per day and emit more than 190 tonnes of carbon dioxide while they are doing so.

“I am raising the attention here to not let London slip from its premier trading position.

“Kent seems the most likely to be able to provide some of this additional capacity that we need.

“Trying to find a site within London’s footprint is extremely difficult and we have all seen what has been going on about an additional runway at Heathrow.

“There are three stages we are looking at, which are expansion within London; expanding an existing airport, such as RAF Manston or Cliffe, and then the third option would be to build a new airport somewhere.

“This issue is not going to go away.

“A new airport can bring a lot of economic benefits and jobs to an area and a lot of people in Kent would welcome one, whether it is expanding somewhere like Manston or building a new one somewhere.”

Gillingham and Rainham MP, Rehman Chishti, whose constituency would be severely impacted if a ‘London airport was built in the Thames Estuary or at Cliffe, has raised the issue in the House of Commons and directly asked the Prime Minister, David Cameron, if ‘Boris Island would go ahead.

He said: “The Prime Minister said in the House of Commons that a Thames Estuary airport will not be built.

“I believe the word of the Prime Minister more than I do of any member of the London assembly.

“You have to bear in mind that the London assembly elections are next year and the members will start saying a lot of things and playing party politics with each other, but the Prime Minister has said in the House of Commons and twice in Gillingham that there will not be an airport built in the Thames estuary.”

Rodney Chambers, the Leader of Medway Council, said: “Ever since the Thames Estuary airport was dreamt up we have said it is too costly, not needed and unwanted. And we will campaign against it until Boris drops his scheme, which the government does not back.

“Instead of spending £70billion – which the country cannot afford - on a fantasy island airport that would turn huge swathes of Kent into a concrete jungle and decimate an internationally renowned area of scientific importance providing a home for 250,000 migrating birds, we should use the full capacity of existing airports.

“For instance, Manston, has one of the longest runways in Europe and is close to the high speed rail link to London while Birmingham airport – which is near the proposed site for a second high speed train - has already said it wants to double capacity.

“Ms Borwick – who is a London Assembly member and councillor for Kensington and Chelsea - has stated that Kent has a number of options it can do to increase airport capacity for the capital.

“Personally, I think that is a matter for the residents of the historic county of Kent who, as we all know, were so vocally against the idea of an airport at Cliffe when it was last proposed that they stopped it getting off the ground a decade ago.”

Councillor Andrew Bowles, leader of Swale Borough Council, another area that would be heavily impacted if the Boris island airport in the Thames estuary was built, said “The Idea was originally looked at but then rejected on environmental grounds,

“I also do not believe it is feasible in financial terms.

“There is no need to re-open the idea for discussion, as I believe they will come to the same conclusion as they did the last time.”