Permission from ministers means that the go ahead has been given for the £344m expansion to London City Airport. Extended terminals, new aircraft stands which will facilitate the arrival of new & more modern planes, plus more space for planes to taxi to and from the runway are all individual plans that the expansion includes.
1,600 jobs will be created thanks to the expansion and that doesn’t even include the 500 jobs that will become available during the construction phase of the expansion. The formal green light was given by The Chancellor, Philip Hammond, the Transport Secretary, Chris Grayling, and the Communities Secretary, Sajid Javid.
Currently serving 4 million passengers a year, London City Airport which is close to Canary Warf in East London, will now be able to complete more flights to and from the airport at peak times, while bigger terminals will allow for more passengers. Javid claims local residents who are affected by the increase in air traffic would be offered a generous compensation reward.
Hammond said it was a vote of confidence in the resilience of the UK economy.“Making it easier to visit and do business in the City of London will help drive forward our economy and further strengthen the city’s status as the world’s leading financial centre,” he said. A consortium of investors including Boreali and the Ontario Teachers’ pension fund purchased London City airport for around £2bn in February.
The transport links will also be rejuvenated thanks to the investment. An example of this is £2.6m being put aside for more trains and the Docklands Light Railway, as well as a bus and taxi scheme, and improvements to pedestrian and cycle routes.
Opposers claim that noise and pollution would be a massive concern while the investment is going on, and once complete, only leads to more noise from a higher rate of planes landing and taking off in inner north-east London.
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