London City Airport has confirmed that it will appeal against the decision made by Newham Council to refuse the airport’s planning application to increase passenger numbers and amend its opening hours.
The airport submitted its plans in December last year to increase its annual passenger cap from 6.5 million to 9 million.
City airport also submitted plans to allow flights on Saturday afternoon until 6.30pm (7.30pm in the summer) and add three more flights in the first half hour of operations during the week.
The plans did not increase the annual number of flights, beyond what is currently permitted.
In a first for a UK airport, City's application also proposed “a commitment that only cleaner, quieter, new generation aircraft would be allowed to fly in any extended periods.”
The airport said that the proposals would create 4,500 additional jobs across London; contribute an additional £702m in Gross Value Added to London’s economy and enhance connectivity and passenger choice by enabling airlines to serve new routes.
However, Newham Council’s Strategic Development Committee refused the application becasue of concerns about the impact of noise on local residents on Saturday afternoons, and the three additional morning flights.
A spokesperson for Newham Council said: “On
Monday July 10th, the Strategic Development Committee of Newham Council
voted unanimously to reject London City Airport’s application to extend
its operating hours. The refusal reflects the Council’s continued
concerns over the noise and environmental impact of the airport on those
living nearby. These concerns were shared by a number of other boroughs
who also submitted objections to the proposals."
London City Airport argues that the Council “did not properly balance the limited impacts with the very significant benefits of the proposals, particularly in the context of Government policy, including making best-use of existing runway capacity.”
Commenting on the decision, London City Airport’s chief executive, Robert Sinclair, said: “We are disappointed with Newham Council’s refusal of our proposals that will deliver significant benefits to our local community – including new jobs, more choice of holiday destinations for passengers and better local transport connections.”
Sinclair added: “We have worked incredibly hard to develop proposals that genuinely reflect concerns raised, sought feedback from our local community and worked closely with the Council’s planning officers. Their views are built into our proposals to ensure that we addressed appropriate concerns and continue to be a good neighbour and local employer.”
A Newham Council spokesperson said: "The
application will now be referred to the GLA. The Committee’s decision
upholds the recommendation made by planning officers who assessed these
environmental considerations against London City Airport’s case for the
proposal, which emphasised its economic benefits.”
London City Airport said if its appeal was accepted then, "our airlines will be able to progress refleeting to cleaner, quieter, new generation aircraft sooner; delivering more choice for passengers, more jobs for local people and reducing the overall noise impact as early as next summer.”