Sian Berry today pledges that, if elected Mayor of London, she will form a consortium between City Hall, local councils and businesses to buy City Airport in East London and turn it into a new housing and business quarter.
The airport is currently on the market for an estimated £2 billion and Sian Berry is also supporting a petition urging one of the current bidders, the German-based insurance giant Allianz, to heed the compelling business case to change the use of the site.
A report by the New Economics Foundation has shown that the 500,000m2 area could be used to create at least 16,000 more jobs and add an additional £400 million to the UK’s economy if it were freed up for other use.
It could also be used to create thousands of new homes within easy reach of central London, easing both the housing crisis and pressure on the capital’s transport.
Sian Berry says: “City Airport carries just 1.5 percent of all UK airport passengers and is therefore of negligible importance to Britain’s aviation. It will become even more irrelevant once Crossrail opens and provides a fast connection between Canary Wharf and Heathrow.
“But it’s holding back London’s economic potential, undermining the existing enterprise zone here in Newham, and causing untold health and environmental problems to thousands of local residents.
“If this prime piece of the land were used sustainably for innovative businesses, residential areas, leisure, cultural facilities and shops, it would go a long way towards solving many of London’s problems at the same time.”
A fully referenced briefing on Sian Berry’s plans is available at: http://www.sianberry.london/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/London_Green_Party_City_Airport_briefing_Jan2016.pdf