Campaign group challenge London City Airport expansion decision
01.10.09
Campaign group Fight the Flights is taking Newham Council to court, alleging that it failed to consult residents before allowing a 50% increase in flights from London City Airport. It says that the council approved the expansion without consulting residents and other affected boroughs. The council says that it undertook an ‘extensive’ consultation process.
Group spokeswoman Anne-Marie Griffin said the decision to allow the expansion will ‘bump up carbon emissions and add to the misery’. She added that the council's decision to increase the airport's capacity from about 80,000 to 120,000 flights a year also failed to consider the government's policy to reduce aviation emissions to below 2005 levels by 2050. The community-based campaign group is represented by lawyers from Friends of the Earth in its legal bid.
A spokesman for Newham Council said the plan was approved subject to ‘stringent’ conditions and that aircraft movements would be capped at 120,000 per year. He said: ‘Following an extensive consultation process, which included a significant amount of input from members of the public, we are confident that this decision is in the best interest of the communities in Newham.’
‘This decision will pump an additional £26m into the local economy, create hundreds of new jobs for residents, boost tourism in the area and create the potential for further investment in local infrastructure.’
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