We’ve been saying it for years….and even London Mayor Boris Johnson it, the UK capital should invest in and build its primary airport on a purpose-built island in the Thames estuary. And now it seems Lord Norman Foster, the founder and chairman of architect firm Foster + Partners – the company that has designed a significant structure in just about every major city in the world – also agrees.
According to Mr Foster, Britain is apparently at risk for being rendered obsolete by the rest of the EU. His solution? A £50 billion artificial island, airport, rail hub, tidal barrier, power plant and “utility spine” just south of London.
Mr Foster said this is a competitive world, so we do not have a choice
The idea of constructing an airport in a river might sound extravagant, but Foster + Partners has already done this type of thing in the form of Hong Kong International Airport, which was constructed on an artificial island four square miles in size in the South China Sea. The Thames Hub airport would be similar, except it would also include a multi-level subterranean railway station that connects with London and the channel tunnel (thus the rest of Europe) while providing a foundation for the next generation of British high-speed rail.
Extending out from the airport across the mouth of the Thames would be a combination tidal barrier (to protect London from flooding and global warming) and a power generator, harvesting tidal energy from the Moon. The entire project is estimated to cost £50 billion, which means that it’ll probably cost something more like £100 billion, and realistically, who knows if it’ll ever even get started, much less finished.
Mr Johnson said London needed aviation links so we can compete with our rivals
As Lord Foster would have you believe, however, Britain doesn’t have a choice in the matter: “If we are to establish a modern transport and energy infrastructure in Britain for this century and beyond, we need to recapture the foresight and political courage of our 19th century forebears and draw on our traditions of engineering, design and landscape. If we don’t then we are denying future generations to come. We are rolling over and saying we are no longer competitive — and this is a competitive world. So I do not believe we have a choice.”
Back in July, Mr Johnson backed a report calling for a brand new south east England airport. Overseen by Transport for London deputy chairman Daniel Moylan, the report said the UK economy would suffer and London lose jobs to its European competitors unless a new hub airport was created in south east England.
Back in 2009, The Sunday Times wrote about it
Releasing the report, Mr Johnson said: “For London to retain its position as the heartbeat of global business, we need aviation links that will allow us to compete with our rivals.”
While the coalition Government has ruled out new runways in south east England, Mr Johnson has long favoured a new airport in the Thames estuary. The report does not specify a particular site for a new airport but another Mr Johnson-commissioned report later this year will consider a range of locations for new airport capacity.
Mr Johnson said: “The capital’s airports are full, our runways are rammed and we risk losing jobs to Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Madrid or other European cities should we fail to act.
“No other city even approaches the volume of passengers handled at London’s airports but we need to start planning for a brand new airport that can help meet the ever-increasing demand for aviation and act as a hub, particularly to the rest of the UK.”
Scott Snowden
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