Only 12% of Britons think creating a new hub airport in the Thames Estuary is the best way to increase Britain's air capacity, although most people want expansion of some kind
Boris Johnson has today confirmed his preferences for air-travel expansion in Great Britain: the creation of a four-runway airport in Kent’s Isle of Grain on the inner part of the Thames Estuary, the expansion of Stansted airport or the creation of an artificial island off the coast of Kent on the outer part of the Thames Estuary, in that order. A YouGov poll for the Sunday Times can reveal that expanding capacity at other regional airports is more than twice as popular as expanding Heathrow, Gatwick or Stanstead or building a new hub airport in the Thames Estuary.
A third of the public (32%) think that “expanding capacity at other regional airports would be the best way of increasing Britain’s air capacity.” Only 12% think creating a new hub airport in the Thames Estuary is the best way to increase Britain's air capacity - and only 14% think the same of expanding Heathrow. 12% say expanding Gatwick or Stansted would be best, and only 10% believe there should not be any expansion of British airports; the least popular option.
A YouGov poll from July 3-4 found that more people opposed the High Speed rail link (HS2) between London and Leeds than supported it. The new poll for the Sunday Times, however, shows that if HS2 and a new Thames Estuary airport cost roughly the same amount, 34% of the public would choose HS2 and only 20% the Estuary project. A third (33%), however, say the money should be spent on neither.
The Isle of Grain project favoured by the Mayor of London has been designed by architect Sir Norman Foster. Boris Johnson would like Heathrow to be closed to make way for it, and have the site turned into a new “Royal Borough of Heathrow” with 100,000 homes.
