On Sun, 25 Jan 2009, Tom Barry wrote:

Tom Anderson wrote:

http://www.teaco.co.uk/siteplan.pdf

That plan puts the airport nearest to Herne Bay and Whitstable; the
article explicitly says Southend and Sheerness. The article could be
wrong, but i suspect this is a different plan. Particularly since the
article says Boris claims the plan is feasible, and even he could see
that that one's bonkers - the amount of tunnel involved would be
immense.

Looking around the place, that PDF is about as near to a genesis of the
project as you can find - Marinair have been around a while and tried to
get noticed in 2002, but were rejected. They seem to have found ready
ears among Conservatives, though, which probably explains it.
Remember, the level of technical knowledge and experience in the Boris
camp is near-zero. Bags of zeal and gung-ho
with-a-bit-of-courage-we-can-do-anything stuff, but seriously short on
clue.

But he's got this Douglas Oakervee, who is apparently an actual engineer
of some standing (eg he runs Crossrail), on board, which means it can't be
completely pie-in-the-sky, doesn't it?

It's difficult to know exactly what Boris is proposing in geospatial
terms, but if you start sketching things out there aren't *that* many
places to put an airport - you're constrained by the shipping channels,
the S.S. Richard Montgomery,

How much of a problem is that, really? Could it not be dealt with?

the built up area around Chatham and Rochester and the desirability of
at least being close to the M2 and HS1. You can run your land access
west of the built up area (across the Isle of Grain and between
Gravesend and Rochester) or east across Sheppey, via the gap between
Sittingbourne and Faversham*, but that's about it. My original
finger-in-air guess was along the A289/A228 corridor, but that hits the
wreck and means a very long under/overwater stretch along the Sheppey
sea-front if Boris really is as far out to sea as his dredger's path
took him :

[see he http://tinyurl.com/af5guc]

Good data!

The farthest point was due north of Whitstable, about 7-8 miles from
both coasts.

And a nearer point is the one i was suggesting, roughly. Could also be a
site on the Kentish Flats, north of or replacing the wind farm.

However ...

Just because a plan's bonkers doesn't mean Boris won't take it
seriously.

.... the Staaaahnrd has an article:

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standa...ort/article.do

With a map:

http://i.thisislondon.co.uk/i/pix/20...an-800x353.jpg

That puts the airport at the far end of the dredger's trip, with the
tunnels making landfall at the eastern tip of Sheppey and near
Shoeburyness.

* or Rainham and Sittingbourne, but HS1 is in the North Downs Tunnel at
a likely junction. Mind you, a 200+km/h underground flying junction is
not going to be the most loony part of the proposal.

The ES map certainly suggests a junction like that. But it doesn't suggest
that its indications are very detailed.

tom

--
Finals make a man mean; let's fusc up and write!