HOW much time has been wasted over COMMENT the years in drawing up fanciful schemes for airports in the Thames Estuary? Hasn’t anybody learnt the lesson that the best hope of an alternative airport to Gatwick or Heathrow was at Maplin just off Foulness?

That was by far the most practical proposal put forward, but was rejected nearly 40 years ago. It would have been built at a fraction of the cost of the proposals that have been put forward since. It would have had the added advantage of being developed alongside a deepsea port at Maplin, which could have become the main port for Europe – instead of Rotterdam and Antwerp.

There would have been no interference to shipping, and would have provided the infrastructure to make this part of the south east of England the most pros perous in the country.

Opportunity never knocks twice. Never has a saying
been more true. The schemes that have been put forward since have verged on the crackpot variety.

The latest comes into that category. How on earth can anybody think of building an airport in the estuary when plans are now advanced for the new London Gateway deepsea containerport at Shell Haven. The ships calling at London Gateway will be the biggest afloat. They will need to use the deepsea channel of the estuary. Where would the airport be built? It is easy to see why London Mayoral candidate Boris Johnson is in favour of the latest scheme.

He needs some imaginative initiatives if he is to unseat Ken Livingston – and an airport in the estuary is hardly likely to upset the voters in Greater London.

The Government scotched a plan for a new airport on reclaimed land at Cliffe nearly three years ago. They are hardly likely to give their backing g to a new scheme now.

The chairman of Southend Airport, Andrew Walters was recently quoted in this newspaper as saying that when the spectre of an airport at Cliffe was removed it greatly enhanced Southend’s chances of expanding.

That must be the local priority now. That is what the Thames Gateway South Essex Partnership is backing, too. The sooner talk of an airport in the estuary is ended the better. There are much bigger issues to be faced in
this part of Essex.