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£1.5bn aquarium project sinks
28.09.09
Plans for a £1.5 billion development in east London which was set to include Europe's largest aquarium were in tatters today after the owners of the site pulled the plug on the deal.
The scheme for the land adjacent to London City Airport was meant to feature a sandy beach as well as 5,000 homes. But landowner London Development Agency has withdrawn from an agreement with its partners, the Silvertown Quays consortium, after the plans failed to progress in seven years.
Planning permission was given for the 68-acre site in April 2007 but the scheme, designed by Sir Terry Farrell, fell victim to the property slump.
Reader views (8)
Who in their right mind would want to live next to London City Airport? Both Newham and LCY management continually bleat that the thousands of folk under it's flight paths who suffer continual noise and polution should do so without complaint because of the regeneration and investment LCY brings to Newham.
The collapse of this project lays bare that lie once and for all.
London City Airport is a blight on London, not a benefit.
- Trevor, London E11
What a shame if this development goes under. This aquarium and the surrounding development would have been a great usage of the area. I do hope that the chance to recover this project in the next three months is taken.
Any investor that wouldn't get involved in this is crazy! The ability to build that many homes in East London would be a massively profitable development in anyone's language.
- Fred, London
It did not surprise me the project got canned. Who is going to fund project next to a noisy airport?
The developers and residents had objected to expansion of London City Airport, which increased flight by 50% from 76,000 to 120,000. Also London City Airport uses larger and noisier Jet planes rather than the smaller planes it was limited when it was built.
It is just as well as the developers cut their losses right now rather than building homes, which really would be a miserable place to live with all the aircraft noise. Imagine buying a new home and you can't open windows because of the noise. During a time of recession, buyers can pick and choose where to buy.
The airport keeps saying it brings jobs. I wonder if it will take the blame for yet another failure in the royal docks. People should look at the Building 1000 - at a cost of £100m it stood empty for 5 years.
Perhaps it is time the Dept of Transport, Treasury and Communities Secretary really look at the real cost of this airport in a residential area.
We need a public inquiry into London City Airport!
- Rk, Docklands
Just another tourist attraction paying low wages, and lining the coffers of the politically connected.
- Trunk, US
What a shame. England is seriously lacking a world-class Aquarium facility, none of our "leading" facilities even compete with other countries. Although saying that I hated the futuristic design...
- Ollie, Guildford
I agree with Sarah, why would anyone come to East London, I bet there's millions of people out there thinking 'well I'm not going to the Olympics in 2012, it's in East London!'
What a singularly ridiculous comment!
- James, East London
It's in east london- why were they thinking people would visit that crime ridden hole?
- Sarah, London
Good !
Lets get things built that will provide work for many people not more homes!
London will become a ghetto for the unemployed if we do not create places of mass, permanent, employment. We will have no wealth and no people with basic abilities to create money.
Stop this lunatic drive to make profits from this perpetual need to create accommodation and leisure facilities now. Create work areas for those people already in London and let other parts of the UK build housing and take the population surplus !
- Jenny, London
