THE cost of building an airport at Cliffe has gone up another £3 billion after the Department for Transport announced that private developers would have to pay towards building road and rail routes.

The government insists that Cliffe opposed by local councils, the British Airports Authority, major airlines and numerous environmental groups should be privately funded.

Now the airport developer will also have to pay part of the cost of providing road and rail access to the Hoo peninsula amounting to an estimated £3 billion.

Medway Council leader Cllr Rodney Chambers (Cons) said Cliffe's costs were much more than the estimated £11.5 billion to build.

"That is well over twice as much as the UK's largest infrastructure project, the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, which ran into financial difficulties," said Cllr Chambers.

"No private sector developer would touch such a white elephant, particularly as the airlines would have to be paid to consider using it."

Just before Christmas the Thames Gateway London Partnership said Cliffe Airport is undeliverable.

"I would appeal to the government to make an early sift of all the options and remove Cliffe as a non viable option," said Cllr Chambers.

"This would end the blight for residents living on the Hoo peninsula and the quarter of a million people who live in Medway."

Other political leaders were concerned that there was still a lot of support for the airport to be built among MPs and civil servants.

Cllr Paul Godwin (Lab) said complacency was the biggest threat.

He wrote personal letters at Christmas to Labour MPs including Environment Secretary, Michael Meacher, urging them to fight the plan. He has urged the other groups' leaders to do the same.

Cllr Geoff Juby (Lib Dem) said: "People will push this plan forward if we take our foot off the pedal. There are still supporters for one large hub airport to be built at Cliffe."