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IT WAS NOT A GOOD IDEA Rejected airport would be ‘too far from London’ Nursery re-opens its doors
See page 6
PROPOSALS for an airport to be built near Abingdon have been rejected, after it was determined to be too far from deter Lond London to be viable. The Airports Commission, led by Sir Howard Davies, published an in interim report on December 17 listing li which proposals had made the shortlist. In the report, the commission stated the reasons why the proposal for an airport near Abingdon, submitted by Bristol-based fi rm Pleiade Associates, had been rejected. It read: “Although less housing would be demolished and this was cheaper with a better relative noise performance to some others in the group, this option is at a greater distance from London. “This proposal would also cause the loss of over 300 hectares of high value agricultural
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By Adam Flinn adam@taylornewspapers.co.uk
land and would sit on a major floodplain needing significant compensatory storage provision. “This area has also been earmarked as a site for a future reservoir by Thames Water.” The proposal was for a fourrunway site on land south of Marcham, and also included developments to the A34 and an eight-platform rail station being constructed. Cllr Sandy Lovatt, leader of Abingdon Town Council, said: “It was never a realistic idea anyway. “I don’t believe it met many of the criteria for an international airport to serve Greater London. “Three perennial projects keep coming up for this part of the country. One is the airport, then there’s the reservoir idea, and the garden city idea for 30,000 houses to go there.
“In some ways, if something happened to it, it would be quite good. “But I am pleased they haven’t decided to put an airport here, that would be horrible.” Cllr Matthew Barber, leader of Vale of White Horse District Council, added: “I never got too excited about the whole thing. “I always thought it was a rather ridiculous proposal. “These plans were put in some years back and revitalised by the Airports Commission. “And if you study the plans I think you can see that it’s totally unrealistic. “The infrastructure that would have been needed to support the airport certainly wouldn’t have been in place, and the location wasn’t an appropriate size. “I wasn’t particularly surprised that it was rejected. “And I think the news will be reassuring to residents that live locally.” Pleiade Associates were unavailable for comment.