The airport will take up a large plot of land in the Vale of Aylesbury.
1972 HEADLINES: GOVERNMENT AGREES TO AIRPORT AT CUBLINGTON
The British Government has agreed to build a new airport at Cublington in Buckinghamshire, much to the disappointment of local residents and activists. Increasing air traffic has resulted in congestion at both London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports; although Gatwick will remain, serving primarily charter and holiday routes, it is highly likely that Heathrow airport will close with all scheduled airlines required to use the new airport, tentatively named "London Britannia Airport". Also affected will be Birmingham Airport; the new airport's location, part way between London and Birmingham means it will be equally able to support Birmingham with a far greater selection of routes and airlines then the current local airport could do, and could well see Birmingham Airport consequently close.
The new airport will be surrounded by a wide "green belt" with farmland and new areas of woodland to hide the airport from the local villages. The green belt will also prevent the kind of development which has blighted the expansion of Heathrow, and Croydon before that, allowing future development of terminals and runways if needed, with an area the size of three Heathrow Airport sites reserved.
The news has been met with, predictably, both positive and negative reactions. In London, MPs praised the bold move of the Government to back the Roskill Commission's findings over the airport location, whilst airport workers reacted with uncertainty over their jobs. Environmental activists and large numbers of local residents promised to appeal, and some to obstruct progress on the airport which will see four villages flattened to build the airport. The Government has promised compensation for those forcibly moved by the airport works, as well as those who will lose farmland for the proposed woodland areas. Some might say that Roskill himself ignored the plight on the land when he merely commented that "the 100,000 adversely affected by this airport will shout far louder than the 100,000,000 who will benefit from it."
The news has been of secondary interest to British Rail, who has been involved in planning for the provision of public transport to the airport. Extensions to the Marylebone route via Aylesbury, as well as a spur from the WCML at Leighton Buzzard have been floated, whilst the route of the Great Central Main Line, currently under study for a high speed link, passes not far from the proposed site and would allow high speed access to the capital and regional centres.
Options aplenty with regards to Cublington Airport, according to the Commission papers.
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Notes: Not sure if this will actually go ahead here yet, but it's recommended by a Commission as per OTL, and this time the Govt has accepted it in principle. It's certainly an interesting principle, but it's down to whether or not the Govt has the guts to push it through.
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Hope your eye is ok Devvy!
From another fellow alternative railway historian, I hope your eye gets better!
Devvy hope your eye is on the mend.
Thanks all for the well wishes; to cut a long story short it was agonisingly painful to start with, but the hospital said it was fine again after 5-6 days, so it's all mended and depth perception back again (5-6 days of no driving was difficult!)
