By Pell Frischmann’s Environment Sector Director, David Thomson.
We are delighted to have supported London City Airport’s recent planning application to increase its permitted passenger cap from 6.5 million passengers per annum (mppa) to 9.0 mppa, together with the lifting of other constraints including extending Saturday operational hours to 18.30 hours. These changes will hasten the airport’s recovery from the severe economic impacts it suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic and will incentivise the uptake of ‘new generation’ aircraft which are quieter, cleaner and more fuel efficient than the older aircraft they will replace.
The airport has been at the heart of the growth and regeneration of the Royal Docks and East London since it opened in 1987. It is also crucial to the success of London as a global city and is only 25 minutes from the City of London and 20 minutes from Canary Wharf (by DLR). This means the airport plays a key connectivity role for high value and high growth industries located in London’s most productive and important clusters.
Current Planning Application
The ‘Section 73’ (S73) application seeks to vary the conditions of the existing 2016 permission for the City Airport Development Programme (CADP1). The physical components of this development comprise the upgrade and expansion of the airport’s terminal buildings, a new passenger pier, energy centres, forecourt and airfield infrastructure; the latter including a new taxi lane running parallel to the runway and 8 ‘Code C’ aircraft stands on a 7,500m² concrete deck over King George V Dock. Most of this airfield infrastructure was completed by mid 2020, but COVID-19 saw the temporary closure of the airport and a dramatic reduction in passenger numbers and associated revenue. Therefore, the remaining works have had to be postponed by up to 5 years.
The proposed changes brought forward by the S73 application are consistent with national policy, including the principle of ‘making best use’ of existing airport capacity (MBU) and the Government’s Jet Zero strategy which commits UK domestic aviation to achieving net zero emissions by 2040. The growth projections for the airport also align with the 2021 London City Airport Master Plan, as well as its recently published Sustainability Roadmap: Above and Beyond, which targets it becoming a net zero emission (scope 1 & 2) airport by 2030.
Pell Frischmann’s role in this project was to coordinate the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and associated technical disciplines, culminating in the completion of a detailed and comprehensive Environmental Statement (ES), which was submitted in support of the S73 planning application to the London Borough of Newham (LBN) in late December 2022.
The proposed amendments to the CADP1 permission will derive a range of other socio-economic and environmental benefits. In particular, the proposed uplift in passenger numbers combined with a extension to the weekend operational hours of the airport will further incentivise airlines to re-fleet and transition more quickly to efficient modern quieter aircraft with lower carbon emissions. It has been calculated that this will result in Green House Gas (GHG) emissions per passenger falling by up to 27% by 2031 and the total amount of noise from aircraft taking off and landing at the airport being 20% lower in the future, despite the gradual increase in flights towards the permitted cap of 111,000 movements. As a consequence, the spatial extent of the noise contour around the airport is expected to decrease from 9.1km² to 7.2km² by 2031, resulting in 30,000 people being taken out of the 57 dB LAeq,16h noise contour. The airport has also committed to substantially enhance the scope and effectiveness of its existing Sound Insulation Scheme (SIS) with more residents eligible to receive a higher specification of acoustic treatment for their homes.
London City Airport is expected to remain the best-connected airport in the UK with a target of 80% of all passenger journeys to the airport to be made by sustainable transport modes by 2030. A Sustainable Transport Fund will be provided for a range of additional initiatives to encourage staff and passengers to use public transport. In addition, the airport will continue to increase the use of electric and low emission vehicles and building plant, both on and off the airfield.
A revised Energy Strategy will deliver a 46% reduction in carbon emissions compared with the consented scheme, by a combination of improved efficiencies in the terminal design and a move away from gas fired CHP to an airport-wide heat network supplied by air source heat pumps, and enhanced use of photovoltaic panels.
Concluding Remarks
New generation aircraft such as the Embraer 195-E2, which are scheduled to be introduced at the airport from 2025, produce approximately 17% less carbon emissions per passenger than the aircraft they are replacing. Coupled with the greater use of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAFs) over the next decade and the introduction of hybrid aircraft from the mid 2030’s onwards, emissions will reduce even more dramatically. Due to its generally short haul nature (i.e. being focused on smaller aircraft and European and regional destinations), London City Airport is very well placed to accommodate electric, hydrogen and other future zero emission aircraft as soon as they come on stream.
As environmental consultants to the airport, leading the EIA process, Pell Frischmann has enjoyed working with such a progressive and innovative client. We look forward to a successful outcome of the current planning application which will help secure the airport’s sustainable development over the next decade and beyond.
We also applaud the various commitments set out in the airport’s Sustainability Roadmap, including achieving net zero by 2030. This aligns with our own ethos of focussing on “excellence through innovation” and the steps we all must take to work towards and more sustainable and carbon neutral future.
Commenting on the project, our Environment Sector Director, David Thomson says:
I’ve been working with London City Airport for over 15 years and have always been hugely impressed by their commitment to innovation and environmental best practice, as well as the way they invest in their local community. This is challenging time for the aviation sector as it struggles to recover fully from the pandemic and, at the same time, strives towards achieving ‘jet zero’ within the limits of what is technically feasible in the short to medium term. However, there is an exciting transition already in motion, as technological advancements in aircraft design and sustainable aviation fuels are already leading to significant reductions in noise, emissions and other environmental effects. If permission is granted for the current S73 planning application, this will help accelerate this transition whilst also deriving a range of positive socio-economic and environmental benefits effects, both at the airport itself and in the wider area”.