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Terry Farrell hits out at Fosters estuary airport scheme

date added: 14.10.2011

Terry Farrell has criticised Norman Foster’s proposed new £70 billion airport in the Thames estuary, instead advocating a new rail hub connecting existing airports on a site he is masterplanning in west London.

Norman Foster’s proposed new £70 billion airport in the Thames estuary

Unveiled in August, Foster + Partners’ contentious concept for an airport on the Isle of Grain, east of the capital, immediately came in for criticism from wildlife campaigners and local politicians.

Now Farrell has hit out at the plans, suggesting they are unsustainable and could still leave London needing further airports. The move potentially places him at odds with mayor Boris Johnson, who supports a new airport east of London and who appointed Farrell to an airport steering group two years ago.

Speaking at a property summit in London, the design advisor to the mayor of London said there was a ‘much more convincing case’ for proposals to connect the capital’s existing airports. He said: ‘21st-century planning must be based on making what we already have work, rather than spending billions demolishing one set of infrastructures in order to build another.

‘If we build a new multi-billion airport to meet today’s demands, what will we do after 20 years of growth – build another one?’

Farrell’s ‘cost-effective and sustainable alternative’ links Birmingham, Luton, Heathrow, Gatwick and London City airports using planned high-speed and existing mainline railways, and would be the centrepiece of Farrell’s 90-hectare Park Royal City masterplan at Old Oak Common in west London.

Terry Farrell's vision for Park Royal City in west London

A spokesperson for the mayor said Johnson was keen to see a ‘serious and open discussion of the best possible location [for a new hub airport] begin as soon as possible,’ and added: ‘His priority is to persuade the government that a new hub airport is a must if London is to retain its position as the heartbeat of global business.’

Foster + Partners declined to comment, but will unveil a detailed study on the airport later this month.

Source: www.architectsjournal.co.uk

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