Boris Island is back (again)

Whenever you think the Boris Island idea has been killed it seems to resurrect itself from the dead.

According to the Sunday Times today, the idea of an island airport remains firmly on the ground and is being discussed in the highest offices of power. The Chancellor and Prime Minister themselves are being actively lobbied by industry and by Conservative MPs to go ahead with the proposal which will concrete over the Estuary and create a air-traffic corridor of noise and pollution over the Medway conurbation.

Many readers of this blog may be sympathetic to the idea of an airport in North Kent because it will provide needed employment and economic development. However the public overwhelmingly reject the idea and it was a key issue on the ballot paper in 2003, when the Conservatives deliberately used the issue as a dog-whistle with the public and it has remained as such ever since. Many Conservative supporters on the Peninsula joined to campaign against the airport; they will feel concerned at these proposals.

This blog has commented on the constant back and forth of the campaign over the last two years and is vehemently opposed to the Conservative Party proposal for an airport in North Kent. Originally promoted by Mayor of London, Boris Johnson it has gained momentum because of a failure of local Conservatives to challenge the proposal aggressively for fear of electoral harm. This blog opposes the airport because of the harm to our environment and economic drag on house-prices coupled with increased pollution and noise from aircraft.

It now seems that despite the assurances given to Chatham & Aylesford MP, Tracey Crouch that the government remains open to the idea of an Island Airport in North Kent. A proposal which is a short step away from the return of Cliffe Airport.

The Sunday Times exclusive reveals that George Osborne has received representation on the idea behind a mega-airport in North Kent and is intensely relaxed about the idea of causing distress to thousands of residents across Medway. George is apparently open to consultation on the idea because of the unfeasibility of expansion at Heathrow.

The impact of the airport will also harm the wildlife reserves at Cliffe which is ironic given Mark Reckless has recently visited the site this week. Is he telling his Conservative Association on the peninsula everything he knows?

The article in The Sunday Times also makes clear that staff close to the Prime Minister themselves are open to the proposals and have scheduled air-time to discuss the project in detail with the Prime Minister and his key decision-makers. This is hardly the position of an individual who is opposed to the idea out of principle.

It is now clear that despite the assurances by local Conservative MPs the issue remains very much alive. We were given countless assurances by Conservative Parliamentary candidates that no airport would be built.

Instead; we now have major feasibility studies and proposals published. Parliamentary groups formed, debating in open and key Treasury and Cabinet Office officials being lobbied on the idea.

The campaign to oppose the Island Airport by Medway Conservatives is as laughable as it is lacklustre. This blog would contend that it is being deliberately kept low-key in an attempt to retain Conservative Council seats in next years local elections on the peninsula. A Tory airport in the Estuary would decimate the natural environment and would risk significant house price reductions for residents. It is simply not acceptable that public pressure is not being applied.

The Conservative group on the Council is running a quiet campaign of opposition which has only allowed Boris Johnson and senior Tories to gain momentum on the idea.

The opposition to the airport has been marked by a low budget 'pie in the sky' poster. The Council has the ability to manage effective campaigns to promote the idea of a City in Medway but for some reason the anti-Island campaign has been muzzled and ineffective. We have no active campaign to lobby the Council supply-chain, no lamp-post posters and no campaign in the Medway media.

Medway Conservatives should start to address this issue seriously because those in power are clearly malleable and open to u-turns. We can not afford to have our community scarred by overhead noise and pollution.

It is time Tory Councillors stopped putting petty partisan interest above that of our community and start to oppose the Island Airport vigorously.