Green Light For Damhead Creek 2

Mark Reckless MP has welcomed the announcement by the Department of Energy and Climate Change that consent has been granted for the construction of a 1000MW gas-fired power station at Damhead Creek on the Hoo Peninsula.

Speaking shortly after the announcement by the DECC, Mark Reckless said:

"There has been a growing need to improve the the South East's energy security for some time.

This new station will be one of the most efficient power plants in the world, and will produce relatively low CO2 emissions. It will also be built carbon capture ready meaning it can be retrofitted at a later stage once this experimental technology has become commercially viable.

Given the rural nature of the Hoo Peninsula, particularly the Marshes Special Protection Area, it is reassuring to hear that Natural England have confirmed that the proposed development will not adversely affect the local environment.

I especially welcome the commitment from Scottish Power to provide employment for local residents, particularly in light of the pending closure of Kingsnorth due to EU regulations.

After years of dithering under the last government, we are now taking the steps needed to secure our country's future energy supply whilst providing new jobs locally."

Green Light For Damhead Creek 2

Mark Reckless MP Slams Peninsula Airport Plans

Mark Reckless has hit out after an unjustified and irresponsible article stated that the Mayor of London is considering plans to build an airport on the Hoo Peninsula.

In an open letter to the Sunday Times Mark states;

Dear Sir,

Your article on 24 October referring to “new plans for a £14 billion replacement airport alongside the Thames estuary” has caused unnecessary upset to the twenty thousand or so of my constituents who live on what you describe as “the largely uninhabited Hoo peninsula”.

Rather than being “new” or “the brainchild of John Olsen” as suggested, the plan for an airport on the Hoo Peninsula is, as you recognise elsewhere in your article, essentially the same as the Labour government’s 2002-3 Cliffe Airport proposal. You noted that “the site was rejected because of the high risk of bird strike” but that was only one of many reasons.

In rejecting the proposal the previous government cited a lack of support from airlines and concerns that high up-front construction costs could make it financially unviable. Its white paper concluded that “the net benefits of Cliffe were lower than for any of the combinations of additional capacity at existing airports”.

The Prime Minister and the Coalition Government have repeatedly ruled out the building of a new airport in or around the Thames Estuary. Even the Mayor of London, who in any event has neither the power nor the money to build such an airport, has said he is no longer pushing the idea. It will not happen.

Yours sincerely,

Mark Reckless MP

Mark Reckless MP Slams Peninsula Airport Plans

Mark Reckless MP Takes A Walk On The Wild Side

Mark Reckless MP took a walk on the wild side when he visited RSPB North Kent Marshes reserves on the Hoo Peninsula yesterday (Monday 27 September 2010).

He joined RSPB area manager Alan Johnson and Friends of North Kent Marshes to look at the work that has been carried out on the sites. This includes the creation of a car park at Cliffe Pools to improve access for visitors.

Mr Reckless said: “The RSPB reserves at Northward Hill and Cliffe Pools give Medway the most extraordinary range of birdlife and biodiversity and the RSPB’s work goes from strength to strength.

“Above all though, the reserves are a wonderful day out for people in Medway and beyond.”

Viewed from two elevated viewpoints, Mark was briefed on the wider significance of the North Kent Marshes.

Alan Johnson, RSPB area manager, said, “Cliffe Pools and Northward Hill form part of a network of RSPB reserves along both banks of the Thames Estuary. This is one of the UK’s most important areas for wildlife, including hundreds of thousands of waders and wildfowl which depend on the Thames Estuary as their winter feeding ground.”

As well as protecting these vital sites for wildlife, the RSPB is committed to opening up access across the Thames Estuary to allow people to enjoy the amazing wildlife on their own doorsteps.”

For further information and to arrange an interview, please contact:

Sophie McCallum, RSPB South East, t: 01273 763603

Visit the RSPB website – Click Here

Mark Reckless MP Takes A Walk On The Wild Side

Boris Island Update

Mark Reckless, along with Medway Council, Kent County Council, and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) are leading the campaign to get this £40billion scheme blown out of the water due to its expense and the massive impact it will have on our area and the environment.

Responding to Medway Council's meeting with Boris's deputy today:

"In my experience people on the Hoo Peninsula don't take 'Boris Island' seriously. Boris has no power to build an airport here, no idea how to raise tens of billions to fund such a fantasy, and he should confine his activities to London.

The Conservative party does not support Boris Island and it is not party policy, as David Cameron recently confirmed when in Gillingham. Our focus is high speed rail."

Councillor Mark Reckless
Conservative Candidate for Rochester

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Boris Island Update

Campaign To Stop The Estuary Airport

Mark Reckless, along with Medway Council, Kent County Council, and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) have started a campaign to get this £40billion scheme blown out of the water due to its expense and the massive impact it will have on our area and the environment.

Seven years ago, we successfully fought off a similar scheme at Cliffe, on the Hoo Peninsula, thanks to overwhelming support from the public.

Writing on the petition, Mark commented:

"Boris, your proposal for an estuary airport is pie in the sky and has been disowned by our party. Surely it is now time to stop spending taxpayers' money on "feasibility studies" etc. and recognise that this plan is not going to fly?"

The best way to stop this new unnecessary and expensive proposal is to make your voice heard. Please leave a comment on the Mayor of London's plans for a Thames Estuary airport and register for our petition against the proposals below.

Sign the Stop Estuary Airport petition

Read the Mayor of London's feasability study

View the full press release

See what the insiders really think of the planned airport

Campaign To Stop The Estuary Airport