Thames Hub
Encyclopedia
The Thames Hub is a proposal for a new approach to integrated infrastructure development that combines rail
, freight logistics
, aviation
, renewable energy
and its transmission
, flood protection
and regional development
in the Thames Estuary
and connects this infrastructure to a trade and utilities spine that runs the length of the UK. It was developed by architects Foster + Partners, infrastructure consultants Halcrow
and economists Volterra and launched by Lord Foster at the Institution of Civil Engineers
in London
on 2nd November 2011. On 29th November 2011 the Government announced that it would seriously consider "all options for maintaining the UK's hub airport status except a third runway at Heathrow", implying that the Thames Hub would be one of those options.
In the Thames Hub report, Lord Foster says that "We need to recapture the foresight and political courage of our 19th century forebears if we are to establish a modern transport and energy infrastructure in Britain for this century and beyond." In the accompanying video Foster talks about the consequences of inaction in relation to infrastructure planning and says that "the cost of doing business as usual is unaffordable and is certainly greater than this initiative".
believes that it will have to upgrade the current flood defence system in the Thames Estuary from around 2035. The Agency estimates that the rise in sea level in the Estuary over the next century, due to thermal expansion of the oceans, could be between 20 cm and 88 cm and in a worst case scenario could be more than 2.7 metres.
since 1943. In 1968 Lord Roskill was appointed to Chair the Third London Airport Commission, which considered options for a third London airport including a proposal for an airport at Maplin Sands
in Essex. When the Commission reported in 1970, the Government decided to reject its advice for an airport at Cublington
and instead decided to promote an airport at Maplin Sands.. However this was abandoned in 1974 as a consequence of the 1973 oil crisis
. Options for an estuary airport were considered in detail by the Labour Government as part of its work in preparing the 2003 Air Transport White Paper. However the White Paper announced the Government's decision not to progress an estuarial option, but to approve plans for a new third runway at Heathrow.
In 2008 Boris Johnson
the Mayor of London
announced plans to carry out a study for an estuarial airport in the Shivering Sands area, north-east of Whitstable
. The feasibility report, produced in October 2009 by former CrossRail
Executive Chairman, Douglas Oakervee (who led the construction of Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok airport
on an island platform), concluded that there is "no logical constraint" to the plan. Although Kansai Airport
in Japan is located on a man-made island in the middle of Osaka Bay
, the Mayor's proposal was criticised as being too radical and is now commonly referred to as Boris Island.
In 2010 the new Coalition Government
reversed the decisions in the White Paper and ruled out further airport expansion of London's three main airports (Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted
). In March 2011 the Government launched a 6 month public consultation exercise on its policy for a sustainable avation framework. In August 2011 the DfT published new air traffic forecasts that predicted (in sharp conrast to those published by the previous government in 2009) that the majority of future air traffic growth to 2050 would be accommodated at regional airports. These new projections have been strongly criticised by airlines because they seem to ignore the strong preferences by airlines to operate hub and spoke
networks rather than offering point to point services.
Recent studies published by the British Chamber of Commerce
and Frontier Economics
for Heathrow's owner BAA
estimate that the economic cost of not expanding capacity at Heathrow ranges between £900 million and £1.2 billion per year. Willie Walsh, Chief Executive of International Airlines Group
, which owns British Airways
(BA) the largest airline at Heathrow, has recently conceded that plans for a third runway at the airport are "dead" and that BA will now look to expand abroad. In his Mayoral response to the Government's sustainable aviation public consultation, Boris Johnson highlighted the fact that China's fastest growing airline was unable to operate at Heathrow due to a lack of airport capacity. The Institute of Directors
has called for Government to be bold when drawing up its final aviation framework and to consider such ideas as a new hub airport in the Thames estuary. Simon Jenkins
, Chairman of the National Trust
has said that a Thames Estuary airport offers "the least harm for the greatest gain".
In a speech on 31st October 2011 to the Airport Operators Association to mark the close of submissions to the Government's public consultation on its aviation policy, the Secretary of State for Transport
Justine Greening
said that expansion elsewhere in the South East has not been ruled out. At the same event, the Labour Party
's Shadow transport secretary Maria Eagle
announced that the Party had abandoned its support for a third runway at Heathrow Airport but said that the Government must also drop its moratorium on new airport capacity in the South East.
In a 27th November 2011 interview in the Sunday Times, former Deputy Prime Minister
and current Chairman of the Government's Regional Growth Fund, Lord Heseltine said that ministers ought to seriously consider an estuarial airport.
The Thames Hub proposal complements the UK Government's National Infrastructure Plan and provides a more integrated case than previous proposals for a Thames Estuary airport.
in Essex
and Cliffe
in Kent. The new barrier would provide protection to the year 2100 and beyond and result in a 150% increase in the area of land protected from flooding. The increased value of this land could be used to help finance the project through an insurance levy on those areas protected, offering an early ‘first win’ for the Estuary development. Residential development on newly protected land east of Gravesend
and east of Tilbury
could provide homes for Thames Hub staff. To maximise efficiency, housing developments could be grouped to form an energy-efficient network of smart homes
. Shipping in the Estuary would not be affected, because navigation channels would be incorporated into the barrier to allow ships to pass through to Tilbury Docks.
The proposed hydropower array
in the Estuary would be 5 kilometres long and 500 metres wide and would harness tidal flows to produce energy with zero carbon emissions. The tidal generation units can sit either on the estuary bed or on floating pontoons. Their proposed location is north of the Estuary Airport and to the south of the Yantlet shipping channel, the main container freight route to Tilbury Docks and the new London Gateway port. Depending on the type of generation units used, there is the potential to generate up to 525 gigawatt hours (GWh) of energy per year - enough to power some 76,000 homes. Over a yearly cycle, the energy produced would be enough to supply the Estuary Airport, where demand is estimated as 400-600 GWh/year, allowing excess power to be fed back into the National Grid
.
orbital motorway around London. For around a third of its length, the route would pass through tunnels, particularly in sensitive areas such as Epping Forest
. It is estimated to remove around 4,000 lorries per day from the M25 and would reduce the costs of continual motorway expansion and the maintenance demands caused by prolonged heavy use.
The proposal envisages that the orbital rail route could be sunk by one metre into the ground. The excavated earth could then be used to build embankments alongside the track, within which energy and data cables could be laid, in order to provide acoustic shielding and reduce the visual impact of the railway, similar in concept to the use of the Ha-ha in garden design.
New stations along the Orbital Rail route will be located close to existing junctions on the M25, making them accessible by two million people within a 10 kilometre radius. Using the Orbital Rail line to reach their final destinations and thus avoiding central London will allow passenger rail journey times across the capital to be reduced by up to an hour.
In crossing the Thames Estuary, rail tunnels and local road links could be integrated into the flood protection barrier, similar in concept to integration of the Saint Petersburg Ring Road
in the Saint Petersburg Dam
in Russia
.
The Orbital Rail route would provide a missing link between the existing HS1 high-speed rail line and the proposed high-speed line to the Midlands and the North, maximising the impact of both. It also integrates with the new Hub Airport, allowing it effectively to serve the whole of the UK. Up to 60% of airport passengers will arrive using fast, frequent services from across the country
in Qatar
would allow flights to take off and land over water, significantlty reducing noise impacts and enabling the airport to operate 24 hours a day.
Approximately half the area of the airport platform will be on reclaimed land extending into the Estuary, 7 metres above sea level.
The airport will accommodate long-haul airline schedules and growing demand in the Asian market. Thus it will reassert London’s geographical advantage as the stop-off point between North America and Eurasia, which is being eroded by a combination of new long-range aircraft and the emergence of networks centred on a global hub, such as Dubai.
or Manchester
.
(RAB) approach – could provide a funding mechanism for the project. Such an approach is described in a paper for the European Investment Bank
by regulatory economist Dieter Helm and how greater use can be made of RAB funding is being studied by HM Treasury
.
of 3 to 1, which is typically viewed as representing high value for money.
, BBC News web site
and BBC Local Radio
stations, such as BBC Radio Kent
and BBC Radio Suffolk
. It was the lead story on BBC London News
10.30pm bulletin and was the third story on ITV
's London Tonight
.
The Times
referred to it as a "grand plan.... to revive the economy" and in his 'Commentary' for the paper Tony Travers
, Director of the Greater London Group at the London School of Economics and Political Science and a regular media commentator, said, in relation to the London economy, "if this plan does not take off, decline is certain". The Daily Telegraph in its 'Comment' section said that it was "refreshing to see ambition reminiscent of Britain’s Victorian heyday in the latest proposals for a new airport in the Thames estuary." The Financial Times
said the Hub "could lead to the most radical overhaul of Britain’s transport, logistics and communication network since the building of the railways." The Daily Mail
referred to the vision as "astonishing". The London Evening Standard's
editorial said that it was a "welcome, imaginative contribution to the debate about the South East's aviation needs."
Rowan Moore writing in The Observer
was more cautious, citing critics who say that the airport could become a white elephant
like Montréal-Mirabel International Airport
in Canada
.
magazine devoted five pages of its 3rd November 2011 edition to the Hub and in the following week it was the most popular story on its web site.. The design magazine Design Week
said that the Hub had "put the value of huge, design-led national infrastructure projects firmly in front of Government". It also quoted Mat Hunter, chief design officer at the Design Council
, as saying "This is a great chance to start with a blank page and adopt a design-centred approach to a major piece of infrastructure.... The fact that Lord Foster, as a globally-renowned, sustainability-aware designer is initiating this project is hugely positive - what’s needed now is to bring together those on all sides to explore how such an exciting project could work financially, environmentally, logistically and politically." Wired UK
magazine called the proposal "ambitious".
spokeman was quoted as saying that the proposal was an "important contribution to the debate on the future of aviation" and that a Thames Estuary airport would "be considered as part of our wider review of aviation policy."
Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, welcomed the proposal and a spokeman said that "He is delighted that a distinguished figure like Lord Foster agrees that the answer to Britain’s aviation needs lie in the [Thames] estuary." In November 2011 the Mayor published a study on the economic benefits of a Hub airport for London which referred to the Thames Hub as an "exciting development."
Medway Council in Kent and local MP Mark Reckless
announced their opposition to the project.
company, James Dyson
has pledged his support for the project.
Friends of the Earth
announced their opposition to the project.
's 2011 Autumn Statement on 29th November 2011, confirmed that in consulting on its aviation strategy in March 2012 the Government "will explore all the options for maintaining the UK's aviation hub status, with the exception of a third runway at Heathrow." Conservative Party
Deputy Chairman
and Kent MP for Sevenoaks
Michael Fallon
told BBC Radio Kent that the Government was looking seriously at plans for a Thames estuary airport. Leader of Kent County Council
Paul Carter told BBC Kent that he wanted the Government to look at other options - including locating the airport next to the Essex coast. However he said he could see that "there is a very good business case we don’t bleed away aviation business to Holland" by building a new airport close to London. The Financial Times
reported that the Chancellor's announcement gave a boost to supporters of a new hub airport in the south-east of England. In response Lord Foster on behalf of the Thames Hub team welcomed Mr Osborne’s statement, saying: "We believe that the economic case for the Thames hub is compelling." Boris Johnson also welcomed the Government's commitment to "an open debate to explore the capital's future airport capacity needs including the potential for a new airport in the Thames Estuary."
A few days before the Autumn Statement several newspaper had suggested that the Chancellor was supportive of an estuary airport and the evening before the Chancellor spoke Lord Foster had made the case for the Thames Hub in a packed lecture at Oxford University's Saïd Business School
.. To coincide with the lecture the Thames Hub team also released some new images of the Thames Hub on the Thames Hub web site.
One option is to expand Manston Airport
. The airport, situated in Thanet
, in north east Kent, is relatively close (15 miles) to the Port of Dover
and the Eurotunnel Folkestone Terminal
and because of this proximity its supporters claim that it could become a hub for arrivals and departures between the UK and Europe and beyond. They also argue that, compared to developing a new airport, expansion at Manston would: a) reduce the amount of taxpayer support that would be needed; b) result in less environmental costs; and c) help regenerate this relatively deprived area of Kent. However Manston is located 65 miles from Central London and the journey time from St Pancras
by existing high speed Javelin trains
to the nearest rail station at Ramsgate
is 1 hour 16 minutes. This journey time could be reduced to under 50 minutes if the old Ashford to Ramsgate
railway line, that makes up part of the HS1 route was upgraded to high speed standards, although the Department for Transport has no plans to do this at present. A further challenge for Manston is that the flight path from its single runway is directly over Ramsgate, a seaside resort
of some 40,000 residents.
Rail transport in Great Britain
The railway system in Great Britain is the oldest in the world, with the world's first locomotive-hauled public railway opening in 1825. As of 2010, it consists of of standard gauge lines , of which are electrified. These lines range from single to double, triple, quadruple track and up to twelve...
, freight logistics
Intermodal freight transport
Intermodal freight transport involves the transportation of freight in an intermodal container or vehicle, using multiple modes of transportation , without any handling of the freight itself when changing modes. The method reduces cargo handling, and so improves security, reduces damages and...
, aviation
Air transport in the United Kingdom
Air transport in the United Kingdom is the commercial carriage of passengers, freight and mail by aircraft, both within the United Kingdom and between the UK and the rest of the world...
, renewable energy
Tidal power
Tidal power, also called tidal energy, is a form of hydropower that converts the energy of tides into useful forms of power - mainly electricity....
and its transmission
Electric power transmission
Electric-power transmission is the bulk transfer of electrical energy, from generating power plants to Electrical substations located near demand centers...
, flood protection
Flood control
In communications, flood control is a feature of many communication protocols designed to prevent overwhelming of a destination receiver. Such controls can be implemented either in software or in hardware, and will often request that the message be resent after the receiver has finished...
and regional development
Regional planning in England
Regional planning in England was undertaken for each of the nine regions, from the 1990s until 2010. In the eight English regions outside London, regional assemblies were formed in 1998, and were responsible for physical planning policy through Regional Spatial Strategies . From 1999, Regional...
in the Thames Estuary
Thames Estuary
The Thames Mouth is the estuary in which the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea.It is not easy to define the limits of the estuary, although physically the head of Sea Reach, near Canvey Island on the Essex shore is probably the western boundary...
and connects this infrastructure to a trade and utilities spine that runs the length of the UK. It was developed by architects Foster + Partners, infrastructure consultants Halcrow
Halcrow
Halcrow may refer to one of several people or other entities.People:*William Halcrow, English civil engineerCompanies:*Halcrow Group, the engineering consultancy...
and economists Volterra and launched by Lord Foster at the Institution of Civil Engineers
Institution of Civil Engineers
Founded on 2 January 1818, the Institution of Civil Engineers is an independent professional association, based in central London, representing civil engineering. Like its early membership, the majority of its current members are British engineers, but it also has members in more than 150...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on 2nd November 2011. On 29th November 2011 the Government announced that it would seriously consider "all options for maintaining the UK's hub airport status except a third runway at Heathrow", implying that the Thames Hub would be one of those options.
Infrastructure challenges
The Thames Hub concept was developed to address a number of infrastructure challenges facing the UK. These include:- The economic divideNorth-South divide in the United KingdomIn England, the term North–South divide refers to the economic and cultural differences between Southern England and Northern England...
between the North and South of the country, perpetuated by Britain’s antiquated transport and communications infrastructure - The need for a long-term replacement for the existing Thames BarrierThames BarrierThe Thames Barrier is the world's second-largest movable flood barrier and is located downstream of central London. Its purpose is to prevent London from being flooded by exceptionally high tides and storm surges moving up from the sea...
which provides flood protection for London - London’s over-congested radial rail network which acts as a bottleneck within the UK's passenger and freight rail network
- The need to develop a direct connection between the current high speed rail line High Speed 1 (HS1) and the planned High Speed 2 (HS2) line.
- The fact that the UK’s only international hub airport, Heathrow, is operating at 98% capacity and has no space for expansion within the surrounding urban area; in addition road and rail access to Heathrow from the UK's regions is difficult.
- Inland freight distribution to and from Britain’s seaports is over-dependent on a road networkRoads in the United KingdomRoads in the United Kingdom form a network of varied quality and capacity. Road distances are shown in miles or yards and UK speed limits are in miles per hour or use of the national speed limit symbol. Some vehicle categories have various lower maximum limits enforced by speed limiters...
that is already overloaded - The need to increase the UK's renewable electricity generation capacity, provide new utility distribution networks for electricity and water and enhance broadband data connectivity across the regions
- A major housing shortage, particularly in London and the South East, given that the UK's population is forecast to rise to 70m by 2027.
- The need to respond to the rise of emerging economies, the changing nature of global trade and the development of larger container shipsContainer shipContainer ships are cargo ships that carry all of their load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. They form a common means of commercial intermodal freight transport.-History:...
, such as the 18,000 TEU Maersk Triple E classMaersk Triple E classThe Maersk Triple E class is a planned family of large, fuel-efficient container ships, designed as a successor to the Mærsk E-class. In February 2011, Maersk awarded Daewoo Shipbuilding a US$1.9 billion contract to build twenty of the ships....
ships, and 9,000 mile long range passenger aircraft, such as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
In the Thames Hub report, Lord Foster says that "We need to recapture the foresight and political courage of our 19th century forebears if we are to establish a modern transport and energy infrastructure in Britain for this century and beyond." In the accompanying video Foster talks about the consequences of inaction in relation to infrastructure planning and says that "the cost of doing business as usual is unaffordable and is certainly greater than this initiative".
Thames Barrier
The Environment AgencyEnvironment Agency
The Environment Agency is a British non-departmental public body of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and an Assembly Government Sponsored Body of the Welsh Assembly Government that serves England and Wales.-Purpose:...
believes that it will have to upgrade the current flood defence system in the Thames Estuary from around 2035. The Agency estimates that the rise in sea level in the Estuary over the next century, due to thermal expansion of the oceans, could be between 20 cm and 88 cm and in a worst case scenario could be more than 2.7 metres.
Rail network
London's radial passenger rail network makes it difficult for rail passengers to travel around Outer London and the South East without first going into Central London. In addition rail freight trains need to run through Central London to get between the Thames Estuary ports and the rest of the country.Airport expansion
There have been proposals for a Thames Estuary airportThames estuary airport
There have been plans since 1943 to build a new airport for London at various locations around the Thames Estuary.- Maplin :In April 1971 the government announced that a site at the Maplin Sands had been selected for the third London airport , and that planning would begin immediately...
since 1943. In 1968 Lord Roskill was appointed to Chair the Third London Airport Commission, which considered options for a third London airport including a proposal for an airport at Maplin Sands
Maplin Sands
The Maplin Sands are mudflats on the northern bank of the Thames estuary, off Foulness Island, near Southend-on-Sea in Essex, England, though they actually lie within the neighbouring borough of Rochford...
in Essex. When the Commission reported in 1970, the Government decided to reject its advice for an airport at Cublington
Cublington
Cublington is a village and one of 110 civil parishes within Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England. It is about seven miles north of Aylesbury. The village name is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means 'Cubbel's estate'. In the Domesday Book of 1086 it was recorded as Coblincote.The...
and instead decided to promote an airport at Maplin Sands.. However this was abandoned in 1974 as a consequence of the 1973 oil crisis
1973 oil crisis
The 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or the OAPEC proclaimed an oil embargo. This was "in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military" during the Yom Kippur war. It lasted until March 1974. With the...
. Options for an estuary airport were considered in detail by the Labour Government as part of its work in preparing the 2003 Air Transport White Paper. However the White Paper announced the Government's decision not to progress an estuarial option, but to approve plans for a new third runway at Heathrow.
In 2008 Boris Johnson
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is a British journalist and Conservative Party politician, who has been the elected Mayor of London since 2008...
the Mayor of London
Mayor of London
The Mayor of London is an elected politician who, along with the London Assembly of 25 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Greater London. Conservative Boris Johnson has held the position since 4 May 2008...
announced plans to carry out a study for an estuarial airport in the Shivering Sands area, north-east of Whitstable
Whitstable
Whitstable is a seaside town in Northeast Kent, Southeast England. It is approximately north of the city of Canterbury and approximately west of the seaside town of Herne Bay. It is part of the City of Canterbury district and has a population of about 30,000.Whitstable is famous for its oysters,...
. The feasibility report, produced in October 2009 by former CrossRail
Crossrail
Crossrail is a project to build a major new railway link under central London. The name refers to the first of two routes which are the responsibility of Crossrail Ltd. It is based on an entirely new east-west tunnel with a central section from to Liverpool Street station...
Executive Chairman, Douglas Oakervee (who led the construction of Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok airport
Hong Kong International Airport
Hong Kong International Airport is the main airport in Hong Kong. It is colloquially known as Chek Lap Kok Airport , being built on the island of Chek Lap Kok by land reclamation, and also to distinguish it from its predecessor, the closed Kai Tak Airport.The airport opened for commercial...
on an island platform), concluded that there is "no logical constraint" to the plan. Although Kansai Airport
Kansai International Airport
is an international airport located on an artificial island in the middle of Osaka Bay, southwest of Ōsaka Station, located within three municipalities, including Izumisano , Sennan , and Tajiri , in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. The airport is off the Honshu shore. The airport serves as an...
in Japan is located on a man-made island in the middle of Osaka Bay
Osaka Bay
Osaka Bay is a bay in western Japan. As an eastern part of the Inland Sea, it is separated from the Pacific Ocean by the Kii Channel and from the neighbor western part of the Inland Sea by the Akashi Strait...
, the Mayor's proposal was criticised as being too radical and is now commonly referred to as Boris Island.
In 2010 the new Coalition Government
United Kingdom coalition government (2010–present)
The ConservativeLiberal Democrat coalition is the present Government of the United Kingdom, formed after the 2010 general election. The Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats entered into discussions which culminated in the 2010 coalition agreement, setting out a programme for government...
reversed the decisions in the White Paper and ruled out further airport expansion of London's three main airports (Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted
Stansted
Stansted usually refers to London Stansted Airport.Stansted may also refer to other places in England:*Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex*Stansted, Hampshire*Stansted, Kent*Stansted Park, West Sussex...
). In March 2011 the Government launched a 6 month public consultation exercise on its policy for a sustainable avation framework. In August 2011 the DfT published new air traffic forecasts that predicted (in sharp conrast to those published by the previous government in 2009) that the majority of future air traffic growth to 2050 would be accommodated at regional airports. These new projections have been strongly criticised by airlines because they seem to ignore the strong preferences by airlines to operate hub and spoke
Airline hub
An airline hub is an airport that an airline uses as a transfer point to get passengers to their intended destination. It is part of a hub and spoke model, where travelers moving between airports not served by direct flights change planes en route to their destinations...
networks rather than offering point to point services.
Recent studies published by the British Chamber of Commerce
British Chamber of Commerce
The British Chamber of Commerce is a United Kingdom lobbying group representing the interests of many businesses and trade associations. It is not an agency of the United Kingdom government....
and Frontier Economics
Frontier Economics
Frontier Economics is a microeconomics consultancy headquartered in London with three additional offices in Europe. Frontier's sister company in Australia, Frontier Economics Pty Ltd, is headquartered in Melbourne with additional offices in Sydney and Brisbane...
for Heathrow's owner BAA
BAA
BAA may stand for:*Batting average against in Major League Baseball*BAA Ground, a now defunct cricket venue in Rangoon, Burma*BAA Limited Ferrovial, formerly BAA plc, originally known as the British Airports Authority...
estimate that the economic cost of not expanding capacity at Heathrow ranges between £900 million and £1.2 billion per year. Willie Walsh, Chief Executive of International Airlines Group
International Airlines Group
International Airlines Group is a multinational airline holding company headquartered in London, United Kingdom and with its registered office in Madrid, Spain...
, which owns British Airways
British Airways
British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
(BA) the largest airline at Heathrow, has recently conceded that plans for a third runway at the airport are "dead" and that BA will now look to expand abroad. In his Mayoral response to the Government's sustainable aviation public consultation, Boris Johnson highlighted the fact that China's fastest growing airline was unable to operate at Heathrow due to a lack of airport capacity. The Institute of Directors
Institute of Directors
The Institute of Directors is a UK-based organisation, established in 1903 and incorporated by royal charter in 1906 to support, represent and set standards for company directors...
has called for Government to be bold when drawing up its final aviation framework and to consider such ideas as a new hub airport in the Thames estuary. Simon Jenkins
Simon Jenkins
Sir Simon David Jenkins is a British newspaper columnist and author, and since November 2008 has been chairman of the National Trust. He currently writes columns for both The Guardian and London's Evening Standard, and was previously a commentator for The Times, which he edited from 1990 to 1992...
, Chairman of the National Trust
National Trust
National Trust most commonly refers to an organization dedicated to preserving the cultural or environmental treasures of a particular geographic region. They generally operate as private non-profit organizations, although some receive considerable support from their national government...
has said that a Thames Estuary airport offers "the least harm for the greatest gain".
In a speech on 31st October 2011 to the Airport Operators Association to mark the close of submissions to the Government's public consultation on its aviation policy, the Secretary of State for Transport
Secretary of State for Transport
The Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. The role has had a high turnover as new appointments are blamed for the failures of decades of their predecessors...
Justine Greening
Justine Greening
Justine Greening is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. She has been the Member of Parliament for Putney since 2005. She was appointed Economic Secretary to the Treasury in May 2010, and became Secretary of State for Transport on 14 October 2011...
said that expansion elsewhere in the South East has not been ruled out. At the same event, the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
's Shadow transport secretary Maria Eagle
Maria Eagle
Maria Eagle is a British solicitor and Labour Party politician. She is the Member of Parliament for Garston and Halewood, having been the MP for Liverpool Garston from 1997 to 2010....
announced that the Party had abandoned its support for a third runway at Heathrow Airport but said that the Government must also drop its moratorium on new airport capacity in the South East.
In a 27th November 2011 interview in the Sunday Times, former Deputy Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister
A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some counties, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, but is significantly different, though both...
and current Chairman of the Government's Regional Growth Fund, Lord Heseltine said that ministers ought to seriously consider an estuarial airport.
The Thames Hub proposal complements the UK Government's National Infrastructure Plan and provides a more integrated case than previous proposals for a Thames Estuary airport.
Proposals
The Thames Hub's vision is that integrated infrastructure development can provide benefits not just for London and the Thames Gateway area but for the whole of the country, hence the project's strapline An integrated vision for Britain. The main components of the Thames Hub are:- A new flood protection barrier and crossing for the Thames Estuary that extends the flood protection area for London and the Thames Gateway by 150%
- Two opportunities to generate carbon free renewable power – hydropower generators could be integrated into the new flood barrier and an array of hydropower turbines could be installed in the water. Together, these would provide a major new source of clean energy for the South East, while satisfying the demands of the Estuary Airport
- A four-track (two high-speed, two conventional speed) passenger and freight Orbital Rail route around London, which links London’s radial lines, a future high-speed rail line to the Midlands and the North, the Thames Estuary ports, the airport, HS1 (Channel Tunnel to London), and European rail networks
- A Thames Estuary Airport, capable of handling 150 million passengers per annum, enabling the UK to retain its global aviation hub status. The airport is integrated within a logistics matrix that connects by rail the Thames Estuary Ports (London GatewayLondon GatewayLondon Gateway is a major new development under construction on the north bank of the River Thames in Thurrock, Essex. It comprises a large new deep-water port, which will be able to handle the biggest container ships in the world, as well as one of Europe’s largest logistics parks, providing...
, TilburyPort of TilburyThe Port of Tilbury is located on the River Thames at Tilbury in Essex, England. It is the principal port for London; as well as being the main United Kingdom port for handling the importation of paper. There are extensive facilities for containers, grain, and other bulk cargoes. There are also...
, London Thamesport) with the ports of LiverpoolPort of LiverpoolThe Port of Liverpool is the name for the enclosed 7.5 mile dock system that runs from Brunswick Dock in Liverpool to Seaforth Dock, Seaforth, on the east side of the River Mersey and the Birkenhead Docks between Birkenhead and Wallasey on the west side of the river...
, SouthamptonPort of SouthamptonThe Port of Southampton is a major passenger and cargo port located in the central part of the south coast of England. It benefits from shelter provided by the Isle of Wight and Southampton Water, unique "double tides" and close proximity to the motorway and rail networks...
and FelixstowePort of FelixstoweThe Port of Felixstowe, in Felixstowe, Suffolk is the UK's busiest container port, dealing with 35% of the country's container cargo. It was developed following the abandonment of a project for a deep-water harbour at Maplin Sands. In 2005, it was ranked as the 28th busiest container port in the...
. The multi-layered rail station below the airport will handle 300,000 passengers per day and would be the UK's busiest station - A new Trade Spine, incorporating utility pipes and data cables linking the Thames Estuary to the Midlands and North of the country via the Orbital Rail route and the UK rail network
- A comprehensive environmental management strategy that minimises the impact of development and provides opportunities to create significant new wildlife habitats to more than offset losses elsewhere. The project could be the catalyst to reduce pressure on foreshore habitats from rising sea levels and storm activity
Flood protection barrier and crossing
The proposal envisages a new flood barrier, about 18 miles downstream of the existing Thames Barrier, at Lower Hope between East TilburyEast Tilbury
East Tilbury is a village in the unitary authority of Thurrock borough, England and one of the traditional parishes in Thurrock.-History:In Saxon times, the location on which the church now stands was surrounded by tidal marshland...
in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
and Cliffe
Cliffe, Kent
Cliffe is a village on the Hoo peninsula in Kent, England, reached from the Medway Towns by a three-mile journey along the B2000. Situated upon a low chalk escarpment overlooking the Thames marshes, Cliffe offers the adventurous rambler views of Southend-on-Sea and London...
in Kent. The new barrier would provide protection to the year 2100 and beyond and result in a 150% increase in the area of land protected from flooding. The increased value of this land could be used to help finance the project through an insurance levy on those areas protected, offering an early ‘first win’ for the Estuary development. Residential development on newly protected land east of Gravesend
Gravesend
Gravesend may refer to:Places in the United Kingdom:*Gravesend, Kent*Gravesend, Hertfordshire, a hamlet of Albury, HertfordshirePlaces in the USA and Australia:*Gravesend, Brooklyn*Gravesend, New South WalesOther meanings...
and east of Tilbury
Tilbury
Tilbury is a town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. As a settlement it is of relatively recent existence, although it has important historical connections, being the location of a 16th century fort and an ancient cross-river ferry...
could provide homes for Thames Hub staff. To maximise efficiency, housing developments could be grouped to form an energy-efficient network of smart homes
Green building
Green building refers to a structure and using process that is environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition...
. Shipping in the Estuary would not be affected, because navigation channels would be incorporated into the barrier to allow ships to pass through to Tilbury Docks.
Renewable energy
Hydropower turbines could be integrated into the flood proection barrier.The proposed hydropower array
Tidal stream generator
A tidal stream generator, often referred to as a tidal energy converter is a machine that extracts energy from moving masses of water, in particular tides, although the term is often used in reference to machines designed to extract energy from run of river or tidal estuarine sites...
in the Estuary would be 5 kilometres long and 500 metres wide and would harness tidal flows to produce energy with zero carbon emissions. The tidal generation units can sit either on the estuary bed or on floating pontoons. Their proposed location is north of the Estuary Airport and to the south of the Yantlet shipping channel, the main container freight route to Tilbury Docks and the new London Gateway port. Depending on the type of generation units used, there is the potential to generate up to 525 gigawatt hours (GWh) of energy per year - enough to power some 76,000 homes. Over a yearly cycle, the energy produced would be enough to supply the Estuary Airport, where demand is estimated as 400-600 GWh/year, allowing excess power to be fed back into the National Grid
National Grid
-Electric power transmission systems:*National Grid , the electricity transmission network of Great Britain.*National Grid , the electricity transmission network of Malaysia....
.
Orbital Rail Route
The four track orbital rail route will closely follow the alignment of the M25M25
M25 or M-25 may be:* M-25 Dromader Mikro, a variant of the Polish PZL-Mielec M-18 Dromader agricultural aircraft* M-25 , a road connecting Port Huron and Bay City* the engine of the Mercedes-Benz W25 GP race car...
orbital motorway around London. For around a third of its length, the route would pass through tunnels, particularly in sensitive areas such as Epping Forest
Epping Forest
Epping Forest is an area of ancient woodland in south-east England, straddling the border between north-east Greater London and Essex. It is a former royal forest, and is managed by the City of London Corporation....
. It is estimated to remove around 4,000 lorries per day from the M25 and would reduce the costs of continual motorway expansion and the maintenance demands caused by prolonged heavy use.
The proposal envisages that the orbital rail route could be sunk by one metre into the ground. The excavated earth could then be used to build embankments alongside the track, within which energy and data cables could be laid, in order to provide acoustic shielding and reduce the visual impact of the railway, similar in concept to the use of the Ha-ha in garden design.
New stations along the Orbital Rail route will be located close to existing junctions on the M25, making them accessible by two million people within a 10 kilometre radius. Using the Orbital Rail line to reach their final destinations and thus avoiding central London will allow passenger rail journey times across the capital to be reduced by up to an hour.
In crossing the Thames Estuary, rail tunnels and local road links could be integrated into the flood protection barrier, similar in concept to integration of the Saint Petersburg Ring Road
Saint Petersburg Ring Road
The Saint Petersburg Ring Road is an 88-mile orbital freeway encircling Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the only beltway around the city. The St. Petersburg Ring Road in the Russian road numbering system is listed as the federal public road A-118.-Construction:The need for the construction of a...
in the Saint Petersburg Dam
Saint Petersburg Dam
The Saint Petersburg Flood Prevention Facility Complex , unofficially the Saint Petersburg Dam, is a complex of dams for flood control near Saint Petersburg, Russia...
in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.
The Orbital Rail route would provide a missing link between the existing HS1 high-speed rail line and the proposed high-speed line to the Midlands and the North, maximising the impact of both. It also integrates with the new Hub Airport, allowing it effectively to serve the whole of the UK. Up to 60% of airport passengers will arrive using fast, frequent services from across the country
Estuary Airport
The airport site was selected for its proximity to London – at 55 kilometres from the centre, it can be reached in 30 minutes by high-speed rail. The proposal to build the airport on a platform, like those at Chek Lap Kok in Hong Kong and New Doha International AirportNew Doha International Airport
New Doha International Airport is an international airport currently under construction in Doha, capital of Qatar. NDIA was slated to replace the old Doha International Airport as Qatar's only international airport in 2009. Current estimates have a completion date of 2011/2012...
in Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
would allow flights to take off and land over water, significantlty reducing noise impacts and enabling the airport to operate 24 hours a day.
Approximately half the area of the airport platform will be on reclaimed land extending into the Estuary, 7 metres above sea level.
The airport will accommodate long-haul airline schedules and growing demand in the Asian market. Thus it will reassert London’s geographical advantage as the stop-off point between North America and Eurasia, which is being eroded by a combination of new long-range aircraft and the emergence of networks centred on a global hub, such as Dubai.
Trade spine
The trade spine would include rail links and utility cables. High-speed services would reduce journey times significantly from the cities of the Midlands and North to the cities of continental Europe. By rail, it will take approximately 1 hour and 50 minutes to reach the new Hub Airport from LeedsLeeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
or Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
.
Environmental management strategy
A key element of the proposal is an environmental management strategy to compensate for loss of wetland habitats and provide new roosting and feeding grounds for birds.Funding
The project is estimated to cost £50 billion. The promotors state that it does not need to depend solely on public funding. Established private-sector funding models – such as the Regulated Asset Base(RAB) approach – could provide a funding mechanism for the project. Such an approach is described in a paper for the European Investment Bank
European Investment Bank
The European Investment Bank is the European Union's long-term lending institution established in 1958 under the Treaty of Rome. A policy-driven bank, the EIB supports the EU’s priority objectives, especially European integration and the development of economically weak regions...
by regulatory economist Dieter Helm and how greater use can be made of RAB funding is being studied by HM Treasury
HM Treasury
HM Treasury, in full Her Majesty's Treasury, informally The Treasury, is the United Kingdom government department responsible for developing and executing the British government's public finance policy and economic policy...
.
Benefits
The project is estimated to deliver £150 billion of economic and environmental benefits - £35 billion from rail and road transport, £35 billion from the airport, including tax revenues, £2 billion from environmental management and £75 billion from growth in the Thames Hub area. When the benefits are compared to the costs of the project this gives a Benefit Cost RatioBenefit-cost ratio
A benefit-cost ratio is an indicator, used in the formal discipline of cost-benefit analysis, that attempts to summarize the overall value for money of a project or proposal. A BCR is the ratio of the benefits of a project or proposal, expressed in monetary terms, relative to its costs, also...
of 3 to 1, which is typically viewed as representing high value for money.
Initial Reaction
The launch of the Thames Hub proposal on 2nd November attracted widespread media comment, including coverage on television and radio and articles on web sites, in newspapers and the technical press.TV and Radio
It received extensive coverage on BBC NewsBBC News
BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
, BBC News web site
BBC News Online
BBC News Online is the website of BBC News, the division of the BBC responsible for newsgathering and production. The website is the most popular news website in the United Kingdom and forms a major part of BBC Online ....
and BBC Local Radio
BBC Local Radio
BBC Local Radio is the BBC's regional radio service for England and the Channel Islands, consisting of 40 stations. They cover a variety of areas with some serving a city and surrounding areas, for example BBC Radio Manchester; a county, for example BBC Radio Norfolk; an administrative region for...
stations, such as BBC Radio Kent
BBC Radio Kent
BBC Radio Kent is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Kent.It broadcasts on FM on 96.7 , 97.6 and 104.2 also 774 and 1602 MW and DAB.- History :The radio station was launched in 1970 under the name of BBC Radio Medway, originally only serving the...
and BBC Radio Suffolk
BBC Radio Suffolk
BBC Radio Suffolk is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Suffolk, commencing broadcasts on 12 April 1990. Its studios are at Broadcasting House in St Matthews Street, Ipswich on 95.5 , 95.9 , 103.9 and 104.6 FM...
. It was the lead story on BBC London News
BBC London News
For other uses of the BBC London brand, see BBC London .BBC London News is the BBC's regional television news programme for the English region encompassing London and surrounding suburbs...
10.30pm bulletin and was the third story on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
's London Tonight
London Tonight
London Tonight is a regional news programme broadcast on ITV London . Produced by ITN, the programme is broadcast at 6pm every weeknight, also including local sports news and local features of interest.Like all regional news programmes on ITV in England and Wales and Channel Television, it uses...
.
Newspapers
Most national newspapers were positive about the proposals.The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
referred to it as a "grand plan.... to revive the economy" and in his 'Commentary' for the paper Tony Travers
Tony Travers
Tony Travers is a British academic and journalist, specialising in issues affecting local government. He is the director of the Greater London Group at the London School of Economics and Political Science...
, Director of the Greater London Group at the London School of Economics and Political Science and a regular media commentator, said, in relation to the London economy, "if this plan does not take off, decline is certain". The Daily Telegraph in its 'Comment' section said that it was "refreshing to see ambition reminiscent of Britain’s Victorian heyday in the latest proposals for a new airport in the Thames estuary." The Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
said the Hub "could lead to the most radical overhaul of Britain’s transport, logistics and communication network since the building of the railways." The Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
referred to the vision as "astonishing". The London Evening Standard's
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
editorial said that it was a "welcome, imaginative contribution to the debate about the South East's aviation needs."
Rowan Moore writing in The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
was more cautious, citing critics who say that the airport could become a white elephant
White elephant
A white elephant is an idiom for a valuable but burdensome possession of which its owner cannot dispose and whose cost is out of proportion to its usefulness or worth...
like Montréal-Mirabel International Airport
Montréal-Mirabel International Airport
Montréal-Mirabel International Airport, originally called Montréal International Airport and widely known simply as Mirabel is an airport located in Mirabel, Quebec, Canada, northwest of Montreal and was opened October 4, 1975...
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Technical Press
New Civil EngineerNew Civil Engineer
New Civil Engineer is the weekly magazine of the Institution of Civil Engineers, the UK chartered body that oversees the practice of civil engineering in the UK. It is published by EMAP who acquired the title and editorial control from the ICE in 1995...
magazine devoted five pages of its 3rd November 2011 edition to the Hub and in the following week it was the most popular story on its web site.. The design magazine Design Week
Design Week
Design Week is a UK-based magazine launched in 1986 for the design industry. The publication was first published in October 1986 by Centaur Communications and currently [2011] published by Centaur Media plc...
said that the Hub had "put the value of huge, design-led national infrastructure projects firmly in front of Government". It also quoted Mat Hunter, chief design officer at the Design Council
Design Council
The Design Council is a United Kingdom non-departmental public body incorporated by Royal Charter and registered as a charity.Registered charity number 272099.- In the beginning :The Design Council started in 1944 as the Council of Industrial Design...
, as saying "This is a great chance to start with a blank page and adopt a design-centred approach to a major piece of infrastructure.... The fact that Lord Foster, as a globally-renowned, sustainability-aware designer is initiating this project is hugely positive - what’s needed now is to bring together those on all sides to explore how such an exciting project could work financially, environmentally, logistically and politically." Wired UK
Wired UK
Wired UK is a full-colour monthly magazine that reports primarily on the effects of science and technology. It covers a broad range of topics including design, architecture, culture, the economy, politics and philosophy...
magazine called the proposal "ambitious".
Government
A Department for TransportDepartment for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
spokeman was quoted as saying that the proposal was an "important contribution to the debate on the future of aviation" and that a Thames Estuary airport would "be considered as part of our wider review of aviation policy."
Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, welcomed the proposal and a spokeman said that "He is delighted that a distinguished figure like Lord Foster agrees that the answer to Britain’s aviation needs lie in the [Thames] estuary." In November 2011 the Mayor published a study on the economic benefits of a Hub airport for London which referred to the Thames Hub as an "exciting development."
Medway Council in Kent and local MP Mark Reckless
Mark Reckless
Mark John Reckless is a British Conservative Party politician who is the Member of Parliament for Rochester and Strood, elected at the 2010 general election....
announced their opposition to the project.
Others
Billionaire industrial designer, and founder of the DysonDyson
-People:*Andre Dyson , an American football player*Charles W. Dyson , a U.S. Navy rear admiral*Esther Dyson , consultant and philosopher in emerging digital technology, the daughter of Freeman Dyson...
company, James Dyson
James Dyson
Sir James Dyson is a British industrial designer and founder of the Dyson company.He is best known as the inventor of the Dual Cyclone bagless vacuum cleaner, which works on the principle of cyclonic separation. His net worth in 2011 was said to be £1.45 billion.-Early life:Dyson was born in...
has pledged his support for the project.
Friends of the Earth
Friends of the Earth
Friends of the Earth International is an international network of environmental organizations in 76 countries.FOEI is assisted by a small secretariat which provides support for the network and its agreed major campaigns...
announced their opposition to the project.
Government announcement
The National Infrastructure Plan 2011, which accompanied the Chancellor of the ExchequerChancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
's 2011 Autumn Statement on 29th November 2011, confirmed that in consulting on its aviation strategy in March 2012 the Government "will explore all the options for maintaining the UK's aviation hub status, with the exception of a third runway at Heathrow." Conservative Party
Conservative Party
-Africa:*Conservative Party *Conservative Party *Conservative Party -Europe:*Conservative Party *Conservative Party of Armenia *Conservative Party *Conservative Party...
Deputy Chairman
Chairman of the Conservative Party
In the United Kingdom, the Chairman of the Conservative Party is responsible for running the party machine, overseeing Conservative Central Office. When the Conservatives are in power, the Chairman is usually a member of the Cabinet being given a sinecure position such as Minister without Portfolio...
and Kent MP for Sevenoaks
Sevenoaks (UK Parliament constituency)
Sevenoaks is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
Michael Fallon
Michael Fallon
For the American Physician / Candidate for U.S. House of Representatives see Mike FallonMichael Cathel Fallon is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Sevenoaks, and as of September 2010 the deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party.-Early life:Michael Fallon...
told BBC Radio Kent that the Government was looking seriously at plans for a Thames estuary airport. Leader of Kent County Council
Kent County Council
Kent County Council is the county council that governs the majority of the county of Kent in England. It provides the upper tier of local government, below which are 12 district councils, and around 300 town and parish councils. The county council has 84 elected councillors...
Paul Carter told BBC Kent that he wanted the Government to look at other options - including locating the airport next to the Essex coast. However he said he could see that "there is a very good business case we don’t bleed away aviation business to Holland" by building a new airport close to London. The Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
reported that the Chancellor's announcement gave a boost to supporters of a new hub airport in the south-east of England. In response Lord Foster on behalf of the Thames Hub team welcomed Mr Osborne’s statement, saying: "We believe that the economic case for the Thames hub is compelling." Boris Johnson also welcomed the Government's commitment to "an open debate to explore the capital's future airport capacity needs including the potential for a new airport in the Thames Estuary."
A few days before the Autumn Statement several newspaper had suggested that the Chancellor was supportive of an estuary airport and the evening before the Chancellor spoke Lord Foster had made the case for the Thames Hub in a packed lecture at Oxford University's Saïd Business School
Saïd Business School
Saïd Business School is the business school of the University of Oxford in England, located on the north side of Frideswide Square on the former site of Oxford Rewley Road railway station. It is the University's centre of learning for graduate and undergraduate students in business, management...
.. To coincide with the lecture the Thames Hub team also released some new images of the Thames Hub on the Thames Hub web site.
Alternatives
Alternative, non-estuarial, options for providing additional airport capacity in Kent have been proposed.One option is to expand Manston Airport
Kent International Airport
Manston - Kent's International Airport is an airport located at Manston in the District of Thanet within Kent, England, northeast of Canterbury. It was formerly called RAF Manston , and was also known as London Manston Airport...
. The airport, situated in Thanet
Thanet
Thanet is a local government district of Kent, England which was formed under the Local Government Act 1972, and came into being on 1 April 1974...
, in north east Kent, is relatively close (15 miles) to the Port of Dover
Port of Dover
The Port of Dover is the cross-channel port situated in Dover, south-east England. It is the nearest English port to France, at just away, and one of Europe's largest passenger ports, with 14 million travellers, 2.1 million lorries, 2.8 million cars and motorcycles and 86,000 coaches passing...
and the Eurotunnel Folkestone Terminal
Eurotunnel Folkestone Terminal
The Eurotunnel Folkestone Terminal is a railway terminal built for the transport of road-going vehicles on specially constructed trains through the Channel Tunnel...
and because of this proximity its supporters claim that it could become a hub for arrivals and departures between the UK and Europe and beyond. They also argue that, compared to developing a new airport, expansion at Manston would: a) reduce the amount of taxpayer support that would be needed; b) result in less environmental costs; and c) help regenerate this relatively deprived area of Kent. However Manston is located 65 miles from Central London and the journey time from St Pancras
St Pancras railway station
St Pancras railway station, also known as London St Pancras and since 2007 as St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus celebrated for its Victorian architecture. The Grade I listed building stands on Euston Road in St Pancras, London Borough of Camden, between the...
by existing high speed Javelin trains
British Rail Class 395
British Rail Class 395 is a dual-voltage electric multiple unit used by train operating company Southeastern for its services along High Speed 1 and onwards to the Kent coast. The trains were built in Japan by Hitachi and shipped to the United Kingdom to operate new high speed domestic services...
to the nearest rail station at Ramsgate
Ramsgate
Ramsgate is a seaside town in the district of Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century and is a member of the ancient confederation of Cinque Ports. It has a population of around 40,000. Ramsgate's main attraction is its coastline and its main...
is 1 hour 16 minutes. This journey time could be reduced to under 50 minutes if the old Ashford to Ramsgate
Ashford to Ramsgate (via Canterbury West) line
The Ashford to Ramsgate line is the railway that runs from Ashford to Ramsgate via Canterbury West. The same termini can be reached by the Kent Coast LineThe line is electrified .-Services:...
railway line, that makes up part of the HS1 route was upgraded to high speed standards, although the Department for Transport has no plans to do this at present. A further challenge for Manston is that the flight path from its single runway is directly over Ramsgate, a seaside resort
Seaside resort
A seaside resort is a resort, or resort town, located on the coast. Where a beach is the primary focus for tourists, it may be called a beach resort.- Overview :...
of some 40,000 residents.