The campaign director of Future Heathrow has said that calls for a new airport in the Thames estuary have been rejected after careful consideration.
In a speech to the Royal Aeronautical Society in London yesterday (Aril 24), Lord Soley said that it was time for a “fresh approach” to the discussions on the future of Heathrow, but that a new airport was not the answer.
He said that those in favour of closing Heathrow “seriously underestimate” the cost and the environmental impact of creating a new airport elsewhere.
“There are 72,000 jobs on Heathrow airport and another 100,000 dependent on it in the Thames Valley and west London area,” he said.
“Where are the houses, schools, hospitals road and rail system to go if we build a new hub airport in the south-east? And what will happen to employment in west London and the Thames Valley if we lose Heathrow?”
Lord Soley said that a new approach was needed to ensure that Heathrow could compete with its European neighbours: Frankfurt, Paris and Amsterdam.
