PHASE 1: 23MILLION PASSENGERS A YEAR!

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 3rd Jun 2008

Already The Most Crowded Airspace In The Country

Lib Dems at Kent County Council have pledged their opposition to London Mayor Boris Johnson's campaign for a new London Airport in the Thames Gateway area.

Boris has refused to be precise about the location, but his views will obviously reawaken the controversial plans for an aviation hub on the Isle of Grain or in the estuary itself. Residents of Kent will recall the plans to build in phases, initially a Gatwick-size operation handling about 23m passengers a year. A second phase could expand the airport to 110m passengers annually with 24-hour operations, and up to three runways. There would be further scope to develop a hub airport competing with Schipol, Amsterdam, or Charles de Gaulle, Paris.

Trudy Dean, Leader of the KCC Lib Dem Group said "A London Airport in Thames Gateway will simply lead to yet more noise and air pollution in Kent, already the most crowded airspace in the country. I understand the concern of London residents about proposed developments at Heathrow, but part of the answer must be to invest in regional airports to divert the large numbers of people who have to fly in to Heathrow simply to change to another flight". She continued "The issues that catch the headlines are the proposals but what tends to be overlooked is the area's exceptional greenspaces and wildlife which are of true global significance The damage done to the environment caused by plane emissions, and the increasing cost of fuel mean that we need to concentrate on encouraging greener transport especially train travel".

Note for Information:

Text of email from Boris Johnson's office to Gravesham's Lib Dem Parliamentary Spokesman Bruce Parmenter, dated Wednesday 28th May.

'Thank you for your email of 9 May 2008 regarding a Thames Gateway airport. The Mayor, Boris Johnson, has asked me to reply on his behalf.

The Mayor is opposed to the current proposals for the further expansion of Heathrow airport. If further airport capacity is to be provided to serve London and the south east of England, then the Mayor believes that a review of options to the east of London should be undertaken. As you can appreciate, it is too early to identify particular sites'.