Canvey councillor: We must fight Thames Estuary airport plans (From Echo)
Get involved: send your pictures, video, news and views by texting ECHONEWS to 80360, or email us »
'We must fight Norman Foster's Thames airport'
7:00am Thursday 10th November 2011 in News
Ray Howard
BATTLE lines are being drawn against Lord Foster’s plans for a new airport.
Canvey Town Council has strongly objected to the £40billion proposal for a four-runway scheme and vowed to fight them all the way.
Ray Howard, a town, borough and county councillor, told a meeting of the town council: “It is frightening the work which has gone into those plans. I say Canvey Town Council be the first in the queue to register its opposition to the airport. We need to resist these plans from the beginning.”
Mr Howard said he would speak to the chairman of Essex County Council to discuss the possibility of tabling a motion at a meeting for the county council to formally oppose the proposal.
John Anderson, chairman of the town council, said: “When people see big plans like those for the new airport in the newspaper, they tend to dismiss them, but it is a very, very serious issue. It is an absolute nightmare situation and I fully support any motion to oppose the plans.”
Dot Palmer, 64, of Linden Way, Canvey, said: “This will make our lives miserable. I did not move to Canvey to be disturbed at all times of the night by aeroplanes.”
Comments(11)
carnacation
says...
9:15am Thu 10 Nov 11
MarshallT
says...
9:19am Thu 10 Nov 11
Why can these people not come up with something original.
upset
says...
10:13am Thu 10 Nov 11
Nebs
says...
10:33am Thu 10 Nov 11
geezer, innit
says...
2:33pm Thu 10 Nov 11
marshman
says...
4:15pm Thu 10 Nov 11
upset wrote:Do me a favour. Forgotten already the joint statement issued by Rebecca Harris and (the then shadow) secretary of state for transport Theresa Villiers? They gave a guarantee that there would be no estuary airport built under a tory government - in complete contradiction of London Mayor Borris Johnson. Poor old Ray even got roped into the photo shoot. Which is a bit embarrassing for him really because he's been twittering on about the benefits of such a scheme for at least the last 40 years (since Ted Heaths time anyway). It's disgraceful that he should now use the town council to push the party line. Let him play his games at county or Kiln Road, by all means, but the town council is for local issues - not political filibustering.
Good old Ray dont let party politics get in the way of what you believe.
upset
says...
3:19pm Fri 11 Nov 11
marshman wrote:Did you read his quote or just start tapping on the keyboard with more anti Howard rubbish?
upset wrote:Do me a favour. Forgotten already the joint statement issued by Rebecca Harris and (the then shadow) secretary of state for transport Theresa Villiers? They gave a guarantee that there would be no estuary airport built under a tory government - in complete contradiction of London Mayor Borris Johnson. Poor old Ray even got roped into the photo shoot. Which is a bit embarrassing for him really because he's been twittering on about the benefits of such a scheme for at least the last 40 years (since Ted Heaths time anyway). It's disgraceful that he should now use the town council to push the party line. Let him play his games at county or Kiln Road, by all means, but the town council is for local issues - not political filibustering.
Good old Ray dont let party politics get in the way of what you believe.
GentleGiant
says...
11:00pm Fri 11 Nov 11
marshman
says...
1:39pm Sat 12 Nov 11
upset wrote:Of course I read Rays comment - and knew I was right. Took a while to find something tucked away in the Echo archive, but it's there alright.
marshman wrote:Did you read his quote or just start tapping on the keyboard with more anti Howard rubbish?upset wrote: Good old Ray dont let party politics get in the way of what you believe.Do me a favour. Forgotten already the joint statement issued by Rebecca Harris and (the then shadow) secretary of state for transport Theresa Villiers? They gave a guarantee that there would be no estuary airport built under a tory government - in complete contradiction of London Mayor Borris Johnson. Poor old Ray even got roped into the photo shoot. Which is a bit embarrassing for him really because he's been twittering on about the benefits of such a scheme for at least the last 40 years (since Ted Heaths time anyway). It's disgraceful that he should now use the town council to push the party line. Let him play his games at county or Kiln Road, by all means, but the town council is for local issues - not political filibustering.
Monday 11th February 2008. A comment from Ray Howard in support of an estuary airport. The same old drivel in fact that he's been spouting for decades (ask him, his numbers in the book and on the council web site).
Funny how a year later he's roped in and ordered to tow the party line by the MP and Secretary of State for Transport.
Which brings me back to my original criticism of your comment.
The plain truth of the matter is he's thrown his beliefs out of the window in the name of party politics and been ordered not to rock the boat.
Isn't that a definition for the word 'hypocrite'?
John T Pharro
says...
2:14pm Mon 14 Nov 11
The question I would want to know is who paid for all these plans to be produced. Public funds or private?
There seem to be endless proposals from tunnels under the Thames with the spoil heaped round Canvey, third bridges using Canvey as a leg for the bridge to support, barriers from the Isle of Sheppey to Southend etc etc. All of them flying kites, but who pays for these daft plans?
al coniston says...
8:09am Thu 10 Nov 11