SO, it is to be Heathrow.

After three years of deliberation over the best site for airport expansion, the Independent Davies Commission has given its support for a third Heathrow runway.

The report confirms, on every ground, from cost to environment, from accessibility to ease of development, Heathrow is best.

Any lingering notions of an airport in the Thames Estuary survive only in the mind of Boris Johnson. The Davies Commission did not even include the proposition in its short list.

Despite that, a small shadow of doubt has hung over Southend, and the town’s booming airport. That doubt must surely now be lifted and Southend Airport can continue to expand, without the slightest fear of having its airspace challenged.

The Davies report is a well-reasoned document and the Government should waste no time in implementing its proposals. The extra runway is needed as soon as possible, to keep abreast of expanding markets in the Far East, and maintain London’s role as the world’s top destination city.

The benefits of Heathrow expansion, fostering a general expansion of the aviation industry in the south east, are likely to rub off on Southend.

Boris’s continued opposition to Heathrow begs the question, where else? His championing of Boris Island now looks desperate.