Uxbridge has been chosen for the unveiling of Boris Johnson’s vision for the future of Heathrow Airport, getwestlongon.co.uk can exclusively reveal.

On March 31, the Mayor of London will take the stage at Hillingdon Civic Centre to reveal to the world his blueprint for a world without its busiest airport.

A plane silhouetted against a spectacular sun rise at Heathrow
A plane silhouetted against a spectacular sun rise at Heathrow

With him will be Ray Puddifoot, the leader of Hillingdon Council, who will share with the waiting media Heathrow Park: A Better Future For Heathrow, his ‘garden city’ alternative to replace an airport that accounts for about 8,000 jobs in the borough of Hillingdon alone and hundreds of thousands across the capital.

The plans would swing into action if the Davies Commission, investigating runway capacity in the south of England, decides Heathrow does not warrant a third runway, making it impossible to operate as a hub.

 “We are proposing,” said Mr Puddifoot (below), “that we would not sit there and let it become a wasteland – and Boris is of the same mind.”

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Both the Hillingdon Council leader and the mayor have made their preference for a new hub airport plain: build it in the Thames Estuary. If that means Heathrow shrivels and eventually closes, so be it: Hillingdon, according to Mr Puddifoot, would be ready and willing to pick up the pieces.

“If it were to happen it would not be a challenge; it would be an opportunity,” he told the Gazette, saying his council would ‘not have its head in its hands’.

The ‘Heathrow Park’ document, which will be revelaed at the press conference on March 31, sets out two possible scenarios: a smaller airport in need of fewer jobs and perhaps less land; and the eventual total closure of Heathrow.

Mr Puddifoot has come under fire for suggesting Heathrow might one day vanish, although he points out the decision is out of both his hands and those of Mr Johnson, and he is merely preparing in advance.

The mayor will explain his more prosaically titled Heathrow Redevelopment Scenarios, which are all based on total closure of Heathrow one day.

The press conference will be chaired by Daniel Moylan, Mr Johnson’s lead adviser on aviation policy, and will include specialist transport publications, TV and national and regional newspapers.

All three borough MPs plus representatives of the 2M Group of councils, a cross party alliance of local authorities opposing Heathrow expansion on environmental grounds will be invited, but it is unclear yet whether representatives of Heathrow Airport Ltd will be asked.

Both Mr Johnsonand Mr Puddifoot are likely to draw fire for their masterplan. The Hillingdon Council leader has drawn flak for even suggesting Heathrow might one day close.