Well now that we've discussed fracking what about the new runway at Heathrow?
I live in the NW but believe the capitol's airport at Heathrow is a national asset that is quickly falling behind its European competitors in the race to be 'the' European hub.
The current proposal suggests a new runway at Heathrow rather than Gatwick but wherever it's built we need airport expansion for the Capitol and overall benefit of the country.
So what do we think? New runway? Where?

I'm fully in agreement with the proposal.

Pretty much every report ever generated says the same.

But I think it'll take a brave and exceptionally determined government to make it a reality. If Cameron doesn't act on it now, it'll never happen. Si. <This is my name.

I eat rat poison.

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RAF Northolt is ideally placed and under-utilised. If the runway is realigned East-west to mirror Heathrow, this will permit parallel operations.

A high speed link/tunnel would link the two; a comparatively cheap and fast process.

We need to have a short lived prime minister, (like when D.C. bows out soon, before his tenure is up, as he doesn't want 'a third term' ) to take his name into the history books, (as the blame goes to him,) to announce the flattening of 800 houses etc. then around 10-15 years later, a new Premier, to re-champion the cause and snip the ribbon!
it's not the money, it's the PR.
boris' island will be bandied about for a little longer, till he becomes a full-blown cabinet minister. Gatwick could not be considered as that had a no new runway clause due to run out in a few years..

but there's no getting away from the fact, that this decision should have been made 10 years ago already!
its like we are are just painting over the problem, with 'another report'! (whitewash)
they already have the bulk of properties pre-owned, the terminals' there to cope, crossrail, wider m25, bigger planes.

and these consultants, are probably on the payroll.

it's all bo%%ocks!
somewhere there is another argument about air quality.

FFS!

Northolt runway is only long enough for local aircraft and there is no room for expansion unless they bulldoze West Ruislip and remodel Western Avenue from Polish for a ways
you need 10k feet of runway for a medium to long range aircraft
the Heathrow expansion makes more sense

looking at this logically, if you expand heathrow that means more passengers and more road congestion...why not use an old raf airfield like lyneham or similar and spread the load so to speak.....this will energise the local community and save the people loads on fuel and time trying to get to heathrow.. ... - .- -.




Y. O. L. O.
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Just another Londoncentric development on the back of 'supporting the whole country'.

Westminster needs to get its head from up its own a*se and realise that if agendas like the Northern Powerhouse or a stronger Midlands are to be delivered they need the same airport infrastructure (and therefore the same inward investment / opportunities in the emerging markets).

Think HS2 can provide the same as expanding an international airport? I don't.

Expand Birmingham airport. Flatten Catherine De Barnes to do it (no one will notice) and lets move away from the obsession that is the South East.

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It's about creating a hub airport - no point building lots of little airfields all over the country - that's not what it's about.

Hubs attract more flights - the more connected a country/city is, the more business wants to be there & people with money want to live there.

Better transport between the existing airports would be helpful though - getting between Heathrow & Gatwick is a joke - when even the BAA website says take a National Express coach - on which you can take limited luggage - something is badly wrong

Agree on HS2 - needs to be a way to connect to the airport - maybe just more shuttle type flights ?

SoggyBottoms wrote:

Northolt runway is only long enough for local aircraft and there is no room for expansion unless they bulldoze West Ruislip and remodel Western Avenue from Polish for a ways
you need 10k feet of runway for a medium to long range aircraft
the Heathrow expansion makes more sense

Gatwick every time. Great transport links via the M23 and Victoria station as opposed to the western section of the M25 and the picyerwilly tube line. Also much less impact wrt demolishing homes, much cheaper for the Government (read taxpayers like us). Also Heathrow is busting the European air quality limits already, add another runway and the Gov needs to provide oxygen masks to those on the flightpath

Boris Island....interesting concept, but a crap idea. SDV8 AB MY 2019
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J90 wrote:

Well now that we've discussed fracking what about the new runway at Heathrow?
I live in the NW but believe the capitol's airport at Heathrow is a national asset that is quickly falling behind its European competitors in the race to be 'the' European hub.
The current proposal suggests a new runway at Heathrow rather than Gatwick but wherever it's built we need airport expansion for the Capitol and overall benefit of the country.
So what do we think? New runway? Where?

Heathrow every time all because a few thousand residents will have to relocate but know one sees how many that would be put out of work if mad Borris has his way , not just the people that work at Heathrow but all the company's that rely on this airport for there jobs.
It make me laugh the amount of people that really have no idea what will happen if Heathrow goes, probably because they don't live anywhere near it and don't have a clue of the impact it would have if it doesn't expand.
As a resident very close to Heathrow , the tunnel for terminall 6 is already there and most of everything else is set up for it to expand.
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Well as a northerner who lives close to Manchester airport I still believe that London, our capitol, needs an airport that can handle current and future traffic needs whilst maintaining it's current position as the hub of choice for NW Europe. We need the best airport possible for the greater benefit of the country.
Expanding Heathrow or Gatwick is not a southern centric argument, it's a strategic commercial and financial decision for the UK.
We already have our northern powerhouse airport hub at Manchester. Houses were demolished and great crested newts moved to a new home. Manchester airport has never looked back. Now it's time for Heathrow or Gatwick. What we as a country cannot do is p£&is in the wind about this decision.
How can it take 15 years to build a new runway!

I smell a public enquiry!

Having lived in Windsor and SW London I do think that Heathrow is not the right area for a huge hub airport.

Maybe controversial, but I support the idea of a totally new airport in the Thames estuary. Planes can take off and land over water and avoid the crowded populated parts of the SE. They can then link it to the M25 as well as rail networks. Europe's biggest container port is there already, perfect for a core national hub.

If it resulted in Heathrow shutting down, then so be it, the area needs housing and the new space could accommodate a new town. The airport is important to the local population but not critical. Phase the transition over a long period and it will be no shock to the area.

I know the idea has been thrown out, but expanding outdated WW2 airbases close to highly populated areas is just not the way forward if we are to look at this for the long term. We need to think about safety, convenience and pollution solutions.

Currently I don't live far from the Thames in Essex and there is a huge amount of land on the river that is perfect for such a project and the links to London are not too bad, and can be improved.

Just because Heathrow is the current famous and popular destination is irrelevant if the new airport is far better, larger and better connected to London, in no time at all it will be the new favourite with the right design and PR. Let's move forward rather than patching up the past. Tom

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Last edited by Flashman on 2nd Jul 2015 9:11am. Edited 1 time in total

Personally I am a fan of Boris Island, primarily because even if Heathrow gets another runway, the current expansion argument will again resurface in the future.

By making such a huge commitment now, a legacy that could just keep on expanding with minimal human impact could be put in place. As has been said, transport links are good and could be made excellent, and a link to cargo/container ports would be important as has been developed and proven in Dubai.

Funding it is another matter entirely, and Heathrow would almost certainly have to close due to airspace constraints which would be deeply unpopular with a local work force.