§ 28. Mr. Bostonasked the President of the Board of Trade what consideration he has been giving to the recent proposals by a member of a firm of consulting engineers in London that a major international airport for London be built on land that could be reclaimed off the Kent coast on the Goodwin Sands; and what conclusions he has come to.
§ Mr. J. P. W. MallalieuBecause of the cost and comparative inaccessibility, I am not convinced that such a site would be suitable for a London airport within the foreseeable future. Timing certainly precludes it as the site of the third London airport.
§ Mr. BostonI am grateful to my hon. Friend for his investigations, but will he agree that the great advantage of this site would be that it would save a lot of people from noise? Further, will he accept that I am assured that it is technically feasible, and will he agree to his Department's having further discussions about some of the technical points involved?
§ Mr. MallalieuI would certainly agree to a meeting with officials about technical points, but we must bear in mind that, although a site on this area would be helpful about noise it would be most unhelpful about cost.
§ Mr. OnslowDoes the Minister appreciate that it is extremely urgent to announce a decision about the third London Airport? When does he intend to do so?
§ Mr. MallalieuYes, Sir, I do. As soon as possible.