Remember that slogan: "No Airport At Cliffe"? Remember how Medway Council and local residents had to band together to fight government proposals to lay waste the Hoo Peninsula?
Well we may have to do it all again unless we are careful.
Could talk of a Lower Thames Crossing—"east of Dartford"—turn out to be the son of Cliffe Airport?
Nobody can deny that Medway is a key focal point within the Thames Gateway, and certainly on the Kent side of the river Medway is leading the way in regeneration. Traffic congestion throughout North Kent is one of the big concerns facing us over the next few years.
Those using the Dartford crossing will know that it is invariably nose-to-tail with vehicles, and a growing population both sides of the river is only going to make matters worse.
Another crossing of the Thames may be one way of overcoming some of the problems, and many of us would not argue against that as a solution to congestion.
But, it depends where any future crossing is going to be. "East of Dartford" could be anywhere, and it is worrying that Kent and Essex county councils have launched a feasibility study that does not include Medway Council.
The most worrying aspect of any new crossing will be the inevitable development that accompanies it. You only have to look at our Wainscott Bypass to realise that all the farmland between the road and Strood has since been filled with housing.
We all need to remain vigilant as the feasibility study unfolds, and it is not difficult to imagine a recommendation coming forward that the new crossing should be between Medway and Thurrock (in Essex). Both areas are not under the control of the county councils, so what a grand way of shifting the pain of additional development elsewhere!
The green spaces of the Hoo Peninsula will continue to be threatened periodically by some scheme or another. It is up to all to keep a careful watch over what is happening.
For Medway Council the challenge is to ensure that our views are made known. For local residents the challenge is to be ready in case the study comes up with something nasty.
We could find ourselves uniting again under a new slogan: "No Crossing At Cliffe!"