Stansted plans are not pukka, says Jamie (From This Is Local London)

Stansted plans are not pukka, says Jamie

10:28am Saturday 13th December 2003 in

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Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has spoken out about the devastating impact that making Stansted Airport the world's biggest airport would have on the region.

When asked whether he intended to carry on fighting against proposals to expand Stansted if it featured in they Air Transport White Paper due out before Christmas, Jamie said: "Of course. No-one in the country would want to see the area they love, and where they have grown up and want to see their children grow up, being destroyed."

Tghe chef, famous for catchphrases such as 'sweet' and 'pukka', added: "I think it would be an enormous mistake and no-one would be able to reverse the decision once it had all gone forever."

Mr Oliver, who grew up in Clavering where his parents still run the Cricketers pub and restaurant, also spoke about what he found especially troubling about the proposals to expand Stansted and his concerns about the countryside and villages under threat.

He said: "Personally, I have no interest in politics, except in certain areas, but I know that the feeling in the community is that if Stansted is chosen, it will have been chosen for the wrong reasons.

"It isn't just the beautiful countryside and the villages that will be destroyed by an extra runway, but also the quality of life for hundreds of thousands of people. This country has such beautiful countryside that we should cherish it."

In answer to those who claim that the benefits of expansion outweigh the harm he said: "Everyone I know living around here is really worried about the obvious effects of living next to a massive airport, especially those who were looking forward to bringing their kids up here.

"I have always said that I am not against flying or airports I have to travel all round the world by air in my line of business but I am against the destruction of vast swaths of English countryside and the massive increase in noise and pollution that will be suffered by millions of people in the south east of England.

"What I have been saying all along is that we need a serious look at options which would minimise environmental damage and maximise happiness.

"It is a chance for this government to come up with something really cutting edge if they really think about it. They have really got to get this one right as it will affect so many people.

"One of the bizarre things about this is that I remember going on a march about Stansted expansion with all our local people when I was about eight years old.

"It seems to me that the Government, or successive governments, just use time to get what they want in the end, softening people up over a period of ten, 15, 20 years."