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Boris calls for airport in east instead of Heathrow expansion
Evening Standard21.01.08
Boris Johnson has said that Heathrow expansion should cease in favour of a new airport being built to the east of London.
The Tory mayoral candidate said ministers should look at moving the airport, saying Heathrow was a "1960s planning error".
"I would like to look at a variety of solutions and we should ask the question whether we should have the solution in the Thames estuary."
All four leading mayoral candidates - Mr Johnson, Ken Livingstone, Brian Paddick and the Green's Sian Berry - have appeared in an advertisement condemning plans for a third runway at the airport.
Under the headline "London united", the advertisement said: "All four candidates for London Mayor oppose a third runway at Heathrow. They don't agree on much, but they're all against this."
But the business community said it was "dismayed" at this " shortsightedness". Colin Stanbridge, chief executive of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: "Additional capacity at the airport is the only way to guarantee London's competitive position... London has spent years working to overtake New York as the world's foremost financial centre - it would be disastrous if that was to be squandered."
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Reader views (10)
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Hong Kong had a similar problem; a bigger airport was required, but there was no space for it. The solution was simple, build an island!
London has plenty of space in the Thames estuary. Building there would allow for further expansion, and will stop the possibility of aircraft coming down in built up areas. I was brought up in Southall and remember the crash of 1958.
Costs could be offset by the eventual sale of the current Heathrow.
- John Crane, Brittany, France
A new airport is essential for London. Too many aircraft are flying over London and one day there will be an accident. It doesn't really matter how far the airport is away from the capital with modern high speed transport links. A properly thought out integrated system would not only be viable in a very short period but would be essential for the next fifty to one hundred years. There seems to be rather poor long term planning in the UK. Heathrow is a dreadful airport with appalling connections with London. There's no way that London can remain number one. Too much time wasted. A completely new airport in the Thames estuary is vital.
- Stephen Lediard, Munich, Germany
How far East does he mean perhaps an integrated shipping aircraft port off the coast it would solve much of the noise problems.
- Steve, Leicestershire
