London City Airport fails in bid to extend flying hours

More than 1,600 residents objected to the airport's plans

London City Airport's plans to extend its flying times on Saturdays have been rejected.

Newham Council's strategic development committee unanimously voted against the proposals in a meeting on Monday.

Some 1,600 people living near the east London airport objected to the plans, alongside eight other London councils that also cited concerns about noise.

The airport was hoping to see a change to a "weekend respite" rule that has been in place for the past 25 years.

Under the policy, planes are banned from flying between 1pm on Saturdays and 12.30pm on Sundays so residents can have a break from the noise.

City Airport wanted to extend its flying times to 7.30pm during the summer and 6.30pm at other times of year, as well as increasing its daily limit of flights from six to nine between 6.30am and 7am.

Lewisham, Waltham Forest, Redbridge, Southwark, Greenwich, Havering, Hackney and Tower Hamlets councils all submitted objections to Newham Council.

Sarah Ruiz, councillor for the Custom House ward, said: "Only yesterday afternoon I was in a garden in Custom House and it was impossible to sit and enjoy being there because of the noise - 24 hours of quiet time is not a lot to ask for those residents whose lives have been blighted."

Planning officers had recommended the application be refused, with case officer Liam McFadden telling the committee that the benefits of the scheme were "insufficient to outweigh or mitigate the substantial harm identified".

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