Designs for the proposed ‘Heathrow City’ have been released, which were commissioned by Transport for London, and are backed by Mayor Boris Johnson. The proposals are for what would happen to the Heathrow area if the airport was to close and was replaced by the Mayor’s favoured idea of a new Thames Estuary hub airport.

 

The plans would allow for the building of approximately 190,000 new homes, parkland or even a factory complex. The Mayor has said that given the demand for new housing the redevelopment of the airport site was the ideal choice. However, this is dependent on the Airports Commission decision, due in 2015, on whether the estuary airport plan is feasible and rejects the plans for the proposed third runway at Heathrow.

The three options that architects have put forward are:

A factory complex for self-build modular homes on the Heathrow site, allowing pople to order homes to their own specifications.

The site would become a new ‘hub-city’ utilizing the existing runways and terminals to define the internal structure and connecting ten ‘local centres’.

A planned ‘fully functioning city within the capital’, with areas of woodland in its design. It would include a technology campus with new housing. The current Terminal 2 building would become a civic centre and retail hub, after extensive refurbishment.

It would certainly make a big difference to the shape and the emphasis of travel within Greater London as a whole and would certainly create jobs, so whether you would need Premier shirts for that new office job, or some thing for the construction site, we would certainly be in a position to help, just give us a call.

But the Airports Commission still have to make their decision on which plan they see as the best for both the area and the country as a whole, and they have plenty to think about, so let’s hope they make the right one as it will affect a lot of people for years to come.