26 MAY 2014
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And as a bonus the Mayor’s latest pitch
Last week Business Travel News took a look at the Heathrow submission to the Airports Commission. We now review Gatwick’s proposal, a 3,200 page document intended to show why the south London operation should be recommended by Sir Howard Davies and his committee. We have also added the latest from the Mayor of London. His submission is only 1,000+ pages.
This is the Gatwick second runway scheme
Gatwick wants to expand but mainly short to medium haul
The much improved North Terminal will stay in some form
THE Mayor and the Estuary
Whilst his ideas for an airport to the east of the capital were ruled out by the Airports Commission earlier this year, the effervescent Mayor of London has got up from the floor, dusted himself down, and kept in the contest. You cannot question his tenacity and resolve.
The Mayor’s 1,000 page submission claims that a new global hub airport would support 400,000 jobs UK-wide in a massive boost to the UK economy, bring in nearly £7bn a year in benefits from the extra global connectivity alone. He says it will be commercially feasible and faces no insuperable obstacles to its delivery. He vaguely notes the Heathrow site will be redeveloped but offers no real clues as to redeploying the 100,000 people who rely on the airport for their livelihood.
He rightly points out that London is forecast to grow to 10m people by 2030 and by a staggering 37% to 11.3m people by 2050. Major infrastructure decisions like airport expansion will have to contribute towards meeting the need for homes and jobs posed by that growth.
Mr Johnson says that the submission to the Airports Commission has been developed with the support of world leading consultancies with specialties covering a wide range of aviation and city planning skills. The new airport in the inner estuary is technically, economically and environmentally feasible which really cannot be disputed.
Boris Johnson said: “The Airports Commission has been asked to consider a subject that is of vital importance to our country’s prosperity and place in the world. It is not a small matter and their work will have ramifications for decades to come. That is why it is crucial their considerations take into account the future requirements of this country in 40 or even 50 years time. We must ensure that the final outcome is not one that future generations will regret.”
Using the resources of Transport for London (TfL) his report included studies conducted for TfL by the Civil Aviation Authority, showing, we are told, that a third runway at Heathrow would bring the number exposed to severe noise to more than one million people. Areas that would be newly caught within Heathrow’s noise contour include Kensington, Chelsea, Chiswick and Deptford. No mention of the much quieter modern and future aircraft. A new airport in the Thames Estuary would expose less to aircraft noise but still probably overfly large parts of London that are now aircraft free. The document adds that scientific studies have associated loud and sustained noise gives adverse health impacts, including increased risk of hospital admission for stroke and cardiovascular disease, higher rates of hypertension and lower reading ages in children.
One claim disputed by advocates of an enlarged Heathrow that says a three-runway Heathrow would effectively be full shortly after opening, with limited slot availability and very poor resilience.
Not content to attack Heathrow The Mayor says that a second runway at Gatwick is no solution either – it fails to address the dire noise problems; is unable to function as a hub alongside Heathrow and cannot deliver the connectivity the UK needs. As a result it offers the smallest economic boost of any of the options being considered.
The Heathrow Hub consortium is also submitting its final paper, further explaining its plans for an extension of Heathrow’s northern runway, doubling its capacity. Unlike Heathrow’s own plans it does not involve knocking down British Airways Waterside headquarters.
Heading the campaign is former Concorde Chief Pilot Jock Lowe who was scathing towards the Mayor’s scheme.
“The mayor is playing fast and loose with the jobs of at least 100,000 people by threatening to close Heathrow. By suggesting they move house or commute at least three hours a day to a new airport or change jobs he is failing to address the very real cost in human and economic terms of his plans. Furthermore, by persisting in ignoring our proposal which, by extending the existing northern runway brings no new people into the noise footprint, he is grossly exaggerating the potential impact of expansion at Heathrow. When you take into account newer quieter planes and the use of curved or two-stage approaches, an expanded Heathrow would actually be quieter than it is now.”
If that was not enough Foster & Partners have also submitted their ideas, a commercial enterprise, which calls for an airport on the Isle of Grain in the Thames Estuary, directly across the water from Southend. The experienced airport planners have the backing of Boris Johnson.
www.gatwickobviously.com
http://gatwickairport.com/business-community/New-runway/Documents-library
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/mayoroflondon-inner-thames-estuary-fs-reponse.pdf
www.fosterandpartners.com/news/archive/2014/05/thames-hub-airport-response-submitted-to-airports-commission
www.heathrowhub.com
The Foster plan would give London a remarkable gateway but what would happen to London City, Heathrow and Southend airport's
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