Doing battle with a naked Emperor

Medway Council are ready for battle. CPRE Protect Kent are ready to grab the opportunity to point out that the Emperors of Aviation are naked, and (quite brilliantly) want to inject a little democracy into the process. Best of luck guys.

---

Cllr Rodney ChambersA fierce opponent of a Thames Estuary airport has vowed to fight all the way to the top as controversial plans take a step forward. Medway Council leader Cllr Rodney Chambers wants to work with the Towns' MPs to secure a crisis meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron or Chancellor George Osborne. Mr Cameron was set to announce preliminary backing for a huge airport potentially off the Kent coast - which would dwarf the size of Heathrow - earlier this month, according to a national newspaper.

Click to read more ...

Formal consultation on UK aviation

Thames Estuary airport plans to be examined

The government is to hold a formal consultation on UK aviation - including controversial plans for a new airport in the Thames Estuary. The study, to begin in March, will look at options for "maintaining the UK's aviation hub status".

Downing Street said no decisions had been made - London Mayor Boris Johnson backs the Thames airport idea. David Cameron has ruled out expanding Heathrow but his deputy Nick Clegg is said to be opposed to the estuary idea. Labour said the coalition was in a "complete mess" over aviation policy.

Click to read more ...

Boris shoots own foot in sympathy

'Boris Island' airport plan grounded over Johnson's briefing to Telegraph

An artist's impression of Norman Foster's design for a new four-runway airport on the Thames estuary

Downing Street told Boris Johnson on Wednesday that he had killed off any moves towards an airport in the Thames Estuary ahead of the next general election after an announcement by the London mayor was seized on by the Liberal Democrats. 

David Cameron and George Osborne, who have become alarmed by growing business anxiety about their opposition to expanding Heathrow, had indicated they were warm about a new airport which would assume Heathrow's role as a hub.

Click to read more ...

It's that mad airport plan. Again!

The Hoo Peninsula, and Heathrow. Click it to big it.The biggest airport in the world could be built on the on the Hoo Peninsula, according to reports. Plans for the four-runway airport, which could handle 150 million passengers a year, have been drawn up by leading architect Lord Foster.

The airport, which could cope with more than twice the amount of passengers who fly from Heathrow every year, has reportedly been described as "exciting" by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, who has been backing a different scheme for a Thames Estuary airport.

Click to read more ...

Boris confined to London!

Those nice people at AEF (the Aviation Environment Federation) have managed to shoe-horn a little bit of sense into Boris' more grandiose ramblings. The London Plan is now restricted to, er, London - rather than the whole south east, and it now contains a commitment to phasing out night flights. Great work, guys!

Click to read more ...

Manston could help ease strain of games

Clipping: thisiskent

Bosses at Manston airport have revealed they are in talks with Olympic officials such as organising committee chairman Seb Coe to give the airport a role in the 2012 London games. Chief executive Matt Clarke believes the airport’s location and facilities will mean it can be used to fly in athletes, fans and equipment to the London gamese the inevitable strain placed on Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and London City airports in 2012.

Click to read more ...

Six million passengers for Kent airport

An international travel hub could be created at Kent International Airport at Manston. The 25-year vision from KIA bosses at the former Battle of Britain airfield includes a complex to rival Luton and Stanstead, with passenger intake increasing from 16,000 a year at today’s figures to six million in 2033.

It foresees a second passenger terminal, an extension to the A299 Thanet Way - providing a direct route into the airport for freight and passenger traffic, and a railway station to serve the airport, which aims to take passengers from London St Pancras to Manston in 80 minutes. Two spots have been earmarked for the parkway station - at Cliffsend and the Lord of the Manor roundabout, which is the favoured spot.

Click to read more ...

Carter prefers Manston to Boris Island

Kent County Council leader Paul Carter has hit back at Boris Johnson's call for a new airport in the Thames Estuary. Mr Johnson, the Tories' London mayoral candidate, is calling on the Government to reconsider plans for a new airport in the estuary instead of going ahead with the widely opposed plans for a third runway at Heathrow.

But Cllr Carter on the other hand believes Kent International Airport at Manston could be the solution to improve airport capacity and has invited MP Boris Johnson to see for himself.

Click to read more ...