Letter to East Kent Gazette

Written by Keith Nevols on Fri 6th Nov 2009

Dear Sir

It is astonishing that the Thames Estuary airport proposal is still being considered. A floating airport in the Thames surely deserves a place alongside inflatable dartboards and underwater smoke alarms.

The objections are plentiful and have been well-recited. The expense of the airport at a time of massive public debt; the cost of the new road and rail links; the impact on the local environment; the effect on shipping lanes, and of course the disturbance for local people not least on the Isle of Sheppey.

The initiative is only still around due to the persistence of Boris Johnson, but the Tory Mayor should use his inexhaustible energy (and obvious sense of humour) on dealing with the problems that London has - instead of pushing them east out of the way.

At election time, I hope that all the Sittingbourne & Sheppey parliamentary candidates will immediately pledge to do whatever they can, if elected, to shelve this proposal once and for all.

Keith Nevols

Swale Liberal Democrats