Letter: Catalyst for the whole of London

OF COURSE it matters that the future of Canary Wharf is a success ('Docklands dream has flown', Business, 26 July): not just to London Docklands - which, as an area of eight and a half square miles is much more than a single development - but also to London as a whole. If the city is to maintain its position as one of the world's top three, it needs world- quality commercial space and room to expand.

It also matters to London as a whole that the Jubilee line extension is built. This never was a line serving only Canary Wharf. It was first planned in the 1970s to serve large areas of south and east London. Half of the city's working population lives east of Tower Hill, yet only the District and Central lines run east of Whitechapel. This contrasts with 10 tube lines or branches serving London's western suburbs. That is why the Jubilee line extension is backed by all local authorities and the people and businesses of south and east London.

Michael Pickard

London Docklands

Development Corporation

London E1