Thames Estuary The new airport would be built on a man-made island in the estuary north of Minster-in-Sheppey There is also some discussion about the need for a Lower Thames Crossing in order to alleviate traffic congestion at Dartford. The Thames Estuary is the focal part of the 21st-century toponym, the "Thames Gateway", designated as one of the principal development areas in Southern England. The appellation Greater Thames Estuary applies to the coast and the low-lying lands bordering the estuary itself. These are characterised by the presence of mudflats, low-lying open beaches and salt marshes, namely the North Kent Marshes and the
Estuary English various rates "socially" into middle-class speech and "geographically" into other accents of southeastern England. The scholar Alan Cruttenden uses the term London Regional General British in preference to the popular term 'Estuary English'. The names listed above may be abbreviated: Some authors use different names for EE closer to Cockney (Popular London) and EE closer to Received Pronunciation (London Regional Standard or South-Eastern Regional Standard). Note that some other authors use the name Popular London to refer to Cockney itself. The boundary between Estuary English and Cockney is far from clearcut. Several writers have argued that Estuary English is not