The BBC, "Making It Clear !
"We understand from various sources that Heathrow is full"
"Whats the answer"
"a new runway"
"where",
"same place"
Does business want this",
"yes, call somebody in the City"
"What about the environment"
"Call HACAN"
"what about Gatwick"
er .....hesitation
"move on"
The end
...and that is basically how every media outlet with the BBC leading the charge reports this topic. Top heavy on rhetoric, very light on detail.
We have a problem with airport capacity, the answer is a new runway, that becomes a soundbite, the soundbite is placed in the hands of the BBC but it needs mileage , nay credibility who does one get to cover.
"step forward Kamal Ahmed BBC Business Editor and a former congregation member at the Daily Telegraph Editor"
hmmmm, maybe time to introduce some spin ?
Kamal needs a City Heavyweight to support "a view"
"know anybody"
"indeed, a colleague in The City"
"who would that be"
"xxxxxx CEO xxx, very pro LHR "
and thus the BBC is snared, its filled airtime, created an infograph of plane after plane landing every 3 sec' and generated a misplaced philosophy based not on all the facts but on flimsy, frothy top end stuff that doesn't get anywhere near some real detail. But what it does do is reinforce in the minds of whoever chooses to listen that this the stark choice we face without mentioning any of the challenging or nasty bits.
So what of that detail ?
Maybe i'm missing something but there is not a word on timescales.
We are talking 20 years.....say it again slowly 20 years !
The timescales are so stretched half of us here won't be here, and the other half won't remember what it was we were
debating !
So how on earth can you plan now, based on something that won't see the light of day until 2035 ?
5 Years fines 10 Ok, but 20 ?
And what of a connection to that other project limping along in the sidings ...a semi national...ish high speed rail link ?
Pretty much a given in any other country. How on earth do you make the most of this expansion if Heathrow does not have a connection to HS2 ? If this other shambles of a project does see the light of day (and at the time of writing the costings had been misplaced from the Tory manifesto) would you not want a swift direct link so everybody including us Mancs can bask in this tsunami of economic prosperity that the 3rd runway will bring us ?
Apparently not, in order to connect "swiftly" from The Midlands or The North Of England we will all have to change in "North Acton", lug our bags up 2 escalators, then down two more, yomp across 4 platforms, then get another train that deposits us in the centre of Heathrow where we can then get a bus to take us to the right terminal , and all this 2 hours after alighting from a mode of transport that apparently will got us to North Acton in less than an hour in the first place !!!!!!!
Over exaggeration just a bit , but a damn sight near the reality.
If rail connections are convoluted what of roads how do you make the most of the expansion unless in tandem you upgrade the M25/M40/M4 and the M3. Surely these will require overwhelming surgery ?
Is this not the type of detail that should form a pretty firm platform of debate ?
Last edited by Bagso; 13th May 2015 at 06:27.