London City Airport refused planning permission for £50M Crossrail station

London City Airport CEO describes TfL’s refusal to give £50M Crossrail station the go ahead, “mindboggling.”

Chief Executive of London City Airport, Declan Collier, has hit out at Transport for London (TfL), as the proposals to build a £50M Crossrail station have so far been rejected.

The new station, which would link City Airport to Crossrail, known as the Elizabeth line, has already secured a number of developers willing to invest in the project.

Mr Collier said that once the airport was built, the station would generate more than £3M a year to cover its operational costs.

The Airport has pledged to privately fund the station, but Elizabeth line Operations Director, Howard Smith, said City Airport has yet to submit a formal feasibility study.

Transport Secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, has been approached by the City Airport with its station plans, and has said that the airport would have to show evidence that the project requires no public money, and would not interfere with Crossrail’s 2018 completion date.

They must also show that the new line would not increase journey times, before it could be considered.

A City Airport feasibility study found that the station would increase journey times by just two-and-a-half minutes, and could be built after 2018 without affecting Crossrail.

If the plans were given the green light, the City Airport stop would become the 11^th new station constructed along the £14.8Bn line.

City Airport also have expansion plans costing around £200M, which include the construction of a new terminal. These plans were blocked last March, due to concerns regarding noise. The plans could see the creation of 2,000 jobs and bring an economic boost of £750M to the capital.

The Planning Inspectorate currently has the application, and will send the report to the government who will then make a decision on whether to not the plans should go ahead.

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