New London Heliport
 

Why in London can you not build a bigger and newer heliport. It seems that your authorities do not want to progress. What happens when the first BA609s come onto the market - will they go to LCY?

In Stockholm we installed a floating pontoon for downtown traffic which we call the Helipad 'Gamla Stan'.

Your 'Battersea' keeps changing owners and now you are making it into a hotel? Developer hands over Hotel Verta and heliport to Von Essen - 11/02/2010 - Caterer Search

Will Britain ever develop a world class heliport in central London?

Nope..........

YBB: Is this Stockholm's downtown heliport?

http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/47951.jpg

Yes hellman this is the Gamla Stan heliport in Stockholm shown here receiving SE-HUC a Bell 206L III owned by Arlanda Helikopter who fly in there often to drop off and collect city passengers.

Its .... so big!

We have much fewer movements than London.

That's because your heliport can only take one light single at a time!

That is a world class heliport??????????? I've seen bigger liferafts!!

When I first began flying helicopters, IIRC, there was a barge helipad on the Thames, up near where HMS Belfast is now moored.

Battersea is being improved and is much better than the one pictured in Sweden.

It certainly does need some competition though, the fees are ridiculously high.

The main issue is obtaining planning permission. Unfortunately in UK, helicopters are seen by many as a nuisance and an unnecessary plaything of the rich. The previous Lord Mayor, Red Ken, would apparently have preferred to have banned all of them from the Capital. :ugh:

Not sure what's being implied here by Y&BB - the Stockholm barge raft can hardly be called a world-class heliport and is unlikely to have created much planning concern, given the many hectares of water around the approach &/or departure.
The Thames is a very different kettle of fish - admitedly it would be nice to see some competition but anyone planning one will have quite an interesting planning ride!

I am admitting that Gamla Stan is just a floating landing pad, the point I was making is that we installed a facility downtown.

The UK has quite a large corporate helicopter population (compared to many other European countries) and I understand the Battersea heliport has a large number of movements.

I was thinking that with the Olympics (2012) that London could be a showcase for a world class heliport, perhaps something designed with the BA609 in mind as well.

I know in the past there has been opposition to heliport development but things are changing - traffic congestion alone should justify a new facility.

I was told you have British Helicopter Advising Board and British Helicopter Club and very many politicians (Earl Cathness) and others who support helicopter industry.

The point I am making is that world class helicopter port in London would attract world attention and maybe make it easier for other European countries (including Sweden) to develop similar models. Does it not hurt economic development if people cannot easily get into and out of capital centers?

YBB,

Everyone understands the point you are making; however, the example you cite is not an appropriate benchmark.

It doesn't meet recognised standards for marking nor is it large enough for the Bell that is is photographed with. It is not even clear what loading is provided as limitations are not shown - as is required.

Jim

london heliport
 

london will never get a heliport coz the those that could influence it are to thick to realize that it could be an asset to the city/west end parliment etc could also be used for pleasure at off peak times battersea is in the wrong place and the fee are very high much better when westland owned it helispeediii i think the above is a fair view of the situation

Helispeediii
Was that 'Yoof Text' you used to send that post?

A new heliport will become a reality when real estate prices dictate......simples

The only helicopters I've seen at LCY were the Met Police and Dennis Kenyon, on the day of a display. However (and I had this argument with one of the managers) LCY was turboprops only...until the owner bought a jet. Now we just have to hope he buys a 135 or somesuch, and then good sense will prevail.

I am afraid that the problem with LCY and heles is that dreaded word "planning" again. Generally when it appears it should usually be prefaced with the phrase "refusal to do proper".

I understand that when the original planning permission was granted for LCY a condition was included that helicopters were prohibited to use the airport. The airport owners had a real financial incentive to break out of the "turbo-prop only" FW limitation, but there is not the same incentive for heles. Indeed, if you look at the other London airports, generally they have made it more and more difficult for heles to use them, rather than easier.

With its limited runway and taxi capacity, LCY often seems to be operating to capacity at least in peak times. I am not sure that those who hold the purse strings there would welcome the addition of a "troublesome" few heles.

If there is a solution to this, I suspect that it lies in finding a well-located separate site, which above all else has great/short transport links to the places that rich people want to go to.

The "planning" problem remains, and while there are so few sites in London, any one proposed site will be difficult to argue for, against the eco-lobby. If Ken Livingston had remained as Mayor, I suspect we would not routinely be able to fly over Central London at all.

I wonder how much the honourable s*****bags at Westminster will use heles in the upcoming election campaign: I suspect less than in previous campaigns in the current climate?

Who owns the site opposite LCY, directly across the dock, where the "Red Bull" air race runway is located?

Its already got 2 or 3 helicopter landing pad's painted on it, as used by the Met and even the President of the USA.

Could this not be developed?? Right next to a DLR station, the roads are not too bad as well ;)

Tonge

London Heliport
 

The situation for a new London Heliport gets worse. The Mayor in his latest version of the Replacement London Plan actually says "Development proposals for heliports should be resisted, other than for emergency services." He has moved away from the position of Red Ken that allowed for one in east london if environmental issues could be addressed.

Unfortunately this now means that if the replacement London Plan is adopted the chances of London getting a first class heliport will be virtually non-existent. What with the ConDem alliance opposing aviation (particularly in the SE), and the complete failure to get planning permission for other heliports in London (River Thames helistop dismissed on appeal in 1985, City of London heliport dismissed on appeal in 1991, the Thames Heliport plc thrown out through Court of Appeal in 1996, Harrods helipad lawful development certificate dismissed in 2001), it looks like Mayor Boris (or is it his deputy Sir Simon Milton) will now scupper any further proposals.

Add to this the fact that Wandsworth have set up their own website to encourage people to object to noise from the London heliport, and the Fight the Flights legal challenge against the increase in ATMs at LCY which if successful will scupper their expansion, whilst if it fails LCY have made it clear that they have got all the permission they need and they do not want (and could not accommodate) helicopters.

Who would be a planner involved in promoting aviation these days. Would the last person flying out of London please ensure that the tarmac is rolled up once they leave...

If Sir Norman Foster had his way...

http://www.modeltek.com/Heliport1.jpg
http://www.modeltek.com/Heliport2.jpg

There is a helipad on the West side of the Isle of Dogs. Used to be called Vanguard Heliport but not sure if it still has that name - Still, quite limited for size.

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