Airport looms over Medway

So much for Tory consistency over Boris Airport which has reared its head once more after the appointment of Justine Greening MP to Transport Secretary, and the subsequent lobbying efforts by the London Conservative Party in its detailed paper on aviation for London.

The latest clue comes from a written response from Theresa Villiers MP to Rehman Chisthi which has shown a clear change in government policy from opposition to willingness to consider all proposals. The inaccuracy of her response also snubs thousands of anti-Cliffe campaigners by suggesting that no recent review had been undertaken on the Peninsula - totally ignoring the rejection of the Peninsula proposals in 2002/2003.

This is, on the face of it, another major u-turn from the Cameron government which is clearly hinting to renege on absolute commitments given over the last four years that there are no plans to build an airport in the Thames Estuary.

There is also a real worry that the appointment of Justine Greening, a London MP with an anti-Heathwick caucus in her own constituency, will make expansion at Gatwick and Heathrow very unlikely.

This blog believes we are now poised to see a Conservative government u-turn and a full paper on aviation options including at Cliffe, Hoo and in the Estuary.

The Medway Conservatives have underplayed the prospect of an airport in North Kent to protect an electoral base which is sure to rally against the Tories should any white paper come forward. The Medway Labour Group has consistently warned that if you treat the airport as a joke, if your underfund any opposition campaign, and ignore the thousands being spent on scoping exercises that you will accumulate trouble later on, when the plans become more developed.

Labour submitted a motion to Full Council in 2009 on this very topic. Mark Reckless MP (then a Councillor) and Rehman Chisthi MP supported the Conservative party position to not campaign pro-actively on the issue - ignoring the reasoned argument that unless you actively oppose an issue when it is at its early stages you allow something to become more developed and entrenched.

The local Tory positioning on this issue is quickly looking knee-jerk and desperate. Cllrs' O'Brien & Chamber's moaning from the sidelines with increasingly shrill demands as they realise there total lack of forsight has left Medway residents with the prospect of a mega-airport on the doorstep.

It is all very well parochial 'village-green' Tories opposing the airport; but neither O'Brien or Chambers have any political weight. They are pygmies against the lobbying efforts of the aviation industry and the London Conservative caucus, of which Justine Greening MP is a member, which wants an airport in Kent.

Let us also not forget that the proposals as they stand are currently impacting house prices on the Peninsula. A Conservative Party mayor is therefore directly hitting house prices in Grain, All Hallows, Hoo and the villages.

A white paper and rest assured these people will be up in arms because they it will kill off the housing market in the area and will likely impact thousands of properties in the North of Medway as interested parties seek to flee the prospect of noise, congestion and a deterioration in life-quality.

The Tories locally could have done something about the Boris Airport two years ago. Instead they have treated this issue as a joke and they kicked the can down the road and it is only now, in retrospect, do they see that what seemed wise at the time has led to greater folly.