Presentation and discussion on Thames Hub airport
The All Party Parliamentary Group on Infrastructure met on 15 December for a presentation and discussion on the proposed hub airport in the Thames Estuary.
The meeting was co-chaired by Rt Hon Nick Raynsford MP, Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Infrastructure and Bernard Jenkin MP, Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Thames Estuary Airport.
Huw Thomas, Partner at Fosters and Partners, and Ben Hamer, Delivery Director for Europe at Halcrow, provided the audience with a closer look at the proposed project, highlighting the benefits; the potential to help rebalance the economy and enabling the UK to compete with other European countries.
Thomas spoke of the success of London Heathrow being at the forefront of aviation but raised concerns over capacity constraints and noise disturbance to neighbouring communities.
The Thames hub airport is seen as a viable option to reduce the current problems at London Heathrow as the area is one of the least populated areas in the South East for a flight path. It is expected that 5,000 people will still be affected by noise disturbances but there are the same arguments if an airport was built in a different area.
The project will see the destruction of 20km2 of nature reserves, but the plans do include the creation of a 60 km2 area of nature reserve further north. Listed buildings in the surrounding area would be protected.
As part of the Thames hub proposal, there are also plans to construct new high speed orbital railway, closely following the M25 route, creating a direct link for passengers travelling to Europe and the rest of the UK.
Representatives from BAA, British Air Transport Association, Airport Operations Association and other engineering organisations were also present during the discussion and raised concerns over funding, timelines, the likely impacts on surrounding areas and the possibility of a London Heathrow redevelopment if the new Thames hub is built.