An aerial view of Lord Foster's proposed four-runway airport at Grain

by Alan McGuinness

No more than 1,300 people would lose their homes under plans for the world's biggest airport in the Medway Towns, according to the company behind the huge scheme.

In an exclusive interview, Huw Thomas from Foster and Partners revealed more details of their vision for a four-runway hub at Grain.

He boldly claimed some people living on the peninsula would not even realise an airport is there.

The firm admits an airport would irrevocably change the area and affect people's quality of life, but Mr Thomas argued that is the case wherever infrastructure is built.

"if you put a project in place and you ensure people get the benefits and adequate mitigation is in place people should just be winners from this..." – huw thomas

He said it was "scandalous" teachers had persuaded children to write to him claiming Medway is the wrong place to put an airport because of the location of the explosives-laden SS Richard Montgomery.

If the sunken ship was the danger people suggested it was, and he was sceptical about that, then it needed to be dealt with regardless of whether or not an airport was built.

Mr Thomas also hit back at claims from Medway Council that nine villages would be destroyed and 20,000 people displaced, labelling them "ridiculous".

Speaking from the firm’s riverside office in west London, he said: "It’s absolutely right you should argue your corner, but get your facts straight."

Mr Thomas said the council's communities chief Robin Cooper had got himself into a muddle in a presentation on the impact of an airport on the Towns.

The man who was involved in designing the world’s biggest building, Beijing Terminal 3, said Mr Cooper had mixed up feet and metres when superimposing JFK airport in New York on to the peninsula, making it appear much bigger than it actually is.

He said people had a "fear of the unknown which was perfectly understandable", but added: "If you put a project in place and you ensure people get the benefits and adequate mitigation is in place people should just be winners from this."

Mr Thomas also revealed:

- Up to half of the airport would be built on reclaimed land

- It would be built up seven metres above ground level

- Allhallows would be outside the footprint of the airport, and could be developed into an "airport city" full of hotels, conference facilities and office space

- The Cliffe Marshes would be protected from development

- Listed buildings could be moved brick by brick and placed elsewhere

The estuary project is taking up an "enormous" amount of Mr Thomas' time, and he insisted Foster and Partners, headed by famous architect Lord Foster (pictured right), were serious about building an airport on the peninsula, a location he said that was unique.

"The peninsula is incredibly lightly populated for where it is – it's extraordinary," he said. If you were to superimpose the Hoo Peninsula over Heathrow Airport, the area would have a population of 350,000 people, Mr Thomas said.

One of the biggest arguments against an airport is the cost, opponents claim it could be anything up to £100 billion.

A report by an economics consultancy released in January estimated the public would have to fork out £10-£30 billion to get it off the ground.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson has said the bill could be £70-£80 billion once compensation for reducing the size of Heathrow was included.

But Mr Thomas batted such concerns aside, and said much of it was "gumph".

He claimed just £1 billion of public money would be needed for the Thames Hub – to extend Crossrail from Abbey Wood to Gravesend.

The total cost would be £50 billion.

This includes the airport (£20 billion), a rail link skirting London (£20 billion), a new Thames Crossing on the western side of the Hoo Peninsula (£6 billion) and upgrades to existing infrastructure (£4 billion).

He added that the Grain airport would open with capacity for 84 million passengers a year and up to 110 million could be handled using existing infrastructure.

Those who call for capacity at existing airports to be used instead are "missing the bigger picture", Mr Thomas claimed.

He said: "We’re missing out on where we should be 20 years from now. A third runway at Heathrow would be full again in 10 years’ time. We think someone has to stand up and say ‘where is our economy heading’?"

accused the architects of "playing fast and loose with reality", and said they had been guilty themselves of getting their facts wrong.A Medway Council spokesman

He said Mr Cooper did not get his measurements mixed up: "We would be delighted to welcome them to Medway, where they can explain to our residents why they want to turn north Kent into a concrete jungle with its ill-conceived, ill-thought-out and unaffordable plans for one of the world’s biggest airports.

"The presentation that Mr Thomas is referring to is one which our director used to show how Fosters claims its plan, which will carry up to 140 million people a year, will only affect a part of the peninsula when airports that carry a lot less passengers, such as JFK in New York which carries 50 million, are much bigger.

"Foster + Partners should stop playing fast and loose with reality and admit that if its plan ever went ahead it would change north Kent beyond recognition, especially when you factor in all the extra roads, railways, tens of thousands of new homes and even, potentially, extra Thames crossings that would be needed.

"After all, this firm has already claimed that Heathrow is foggier than the Thames Estuary – which a report by the Met Office has disproven; that one road would be needed for its airport and that the infrastructure needed to service the airport would cost £4bn, when even the Mayor of London admits it would need £25billion of taxpayer’s money for this."

A commission set up by the government to decide what to do about the country’s aviation capacity is due to issue an interim report this year narrowing down the options. Its head is the economist Sir Howard Davies.

A final report recommending whether or not to build a new airport will be published after the next election in 2015.