just a reminder that John Stewart, Chair of HACAN East, the aircraft noise campaign group has invited interested local residents to this meeting tonight to discuss next options in the campaign to stop London City Airport expansion.

31st October : Catford –St Lawrence Church, 37 Bromley Rd, Catford, SE6 2TS, 7.30 -9pm (aimed at people in Catford and Forest Hill).

The expansion Masterplan consultation ended with a bang last week, when the Mayor of London weighed in with multiple reasons why he could not support their plans. He joined most of the 13 overflown London Boroughs in his opposition, including Lewisham, Tower Hamlets, and Newham, the Airport’s planning authority. He included in his response several of the points about noise and flight paths that the Forest Hill Society argued for in a meeting with his senior transport advisors a couple of months ago.

A decent summary from AirportWatch reproduced below:-
Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, has warned London City Airport that “unfettered growth is not an option” as he criticised its plans for expansion. He said residents must have a break from plane noise, and the airport should take its air pollution and environmental responsibilities more seriously. The airport, in a densely populated area of east London, is increasingly used for holiday travel – not business – and it wants to increase the current cap of 111,000 flights/year to 137,000 by 2030 and to 151,000 by 2035. It hopes for 5 million passengers this year, but wants up to 6.5 million per year. The Mayor said the current plans “would not be in the interest of Londoners”. He said noise from planes was a “fundamental issue” as changes to flight paths three years ago meant some areas were being flown over too often. Also that breaks from flights – overnight, and for 24 hours from lunchtime on Saturday – “must not be eroded” and the airport should use new technology to give residents more relief, not just to maximise profits. He said the airport mus t consider CO2 emissions from flights in its carbon reduction plans, as its current target of “net zero emissions by 2050 “does not include flights – only airport terminals, vehicles, and other ground operations.
http://www.airportwatch.org.uk/