20 Jan 2012
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Farrell urges incremental airport expansion

Sir Terry Farrell

One of the UK's most influential architects and master planners has called on the Government to invest more in West rather than east London, and consider an incremental approach to expanding airport capacity rather than the big bang approach proposed in the Thames airport idea.

Speaking at the Movers and Shakers breakfast on Wednesday, Sir Terry Farrell said that Sir Norman Fosters scheme for an island in the Thames was extremely well thought through – “ but you can't just consider one proposal – you need to consider alternatives in the round.” Sir Terry is working on a proposal to bolster the capacity of existing airports like Luton and Gatwick with extra runways and then link five airports by high speed rail.

Sir Terry made his remarks on the day it was announced that the government is to hold a formal consultation on UK aviation - including the controversial plans for a new airport in the Thames Estuary backed by Mayor Boris Johnson. The mayor is backing plans to build four floating runways in a £70 billion project - dubbed Boris Island. David Cameron has ruled out expanding Heathrow but his deputy Nick Clegg is said to be opposed to the estuary idea.

Sir Terry, who is the Mayors design adviser said that building a big new airport would mean that we'd have to wait until 2040 before it was up and running.“ The whole world might have changed by then. Its better to build capacity incrementally – that's how London has grown in the past.”

During the speech at London Dorchester, Sir Terry also urged a change of direction in regeneration. During the Blair era the government had poured investment into areas that had not responded to the market. He said it was now time to invest in areas where the market works and which had missed out – like West London. “The land values are already there, but the area is under provided for.”

Sir Terry said that the recession was the best time to master plan. ”During the boom time developers best over excited and have excess expectations. Plans drawn up in a recession tend to survive.

In a boom, everything suffers from bigness – including the plans for Battersea Power Station, he said. Sir Terry has launched a ‘pragmatic and incremental’ solution to the ongoing saga of Battersea Power Station’s redevelopment ends.