Plans have been presented to increase the number of passengers using London Luton Airport from 18 million to 32 million per year. The airport is currently serving 18 million passengers.
According to estimates provided by Luton Rising, the company that owns the airport and is wholly owned by Luton Council, the airport has the potential to generate £1.5 billion annually and produce thousands of new employees.
The proposals for expansion, however, have been described as “tragic” by those who campaign against noise pollution.
The government’s Planning Inspectorate has received an application for a development consent order that was presented.
The enlargement plans include a new terminal capacity, an extension to the existing airfield platform, as well as new facilities on both the landside and the airside of the airport.
According to a spokesman for the local council, the airport is “one of the largest employers in the area, contributing enormously to the region’s economic vibrancy on an annual basis, while itself increasing significantly in value as an asset in its own right through successive tranches of investment.”
According to what he had to say, “we anticipate that it will provide an additional 14 million pounds each year for communities in Luton and the surrounding regions.”
“The airport will be able to invest an additional pound into the communities that it serves, thereby contributing to the fight against deprivation. This is possible because it will be able to accommodate additional passengers beyond its present capacity.”
“The risks significantly outnumber the potential rewards.”
However, Andrew Lambourne, a spokesman for the local protest group Luton and District Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise (LADACAN), stated: “It is unfortunate that the councilors who run Luton Rising have been so preoccupied with expanding the airport that they appear to have lost sight of the necessity of exercising sound judgment.
“This proposal would produce a noise blight across the entirety of north Hertfordshire, with flights increasingly beginning at five in the morning and continuing on into the early hours, keeping thousands of people awake at night.
“There is a greater potential for adverse effects than for any potential advantages.”
After the application for airport expansion has been submitted, the Planning Inspectorate will have a period of 28 days to decide whether or not the application satisfies the standards required to be accepted for examination or if additional documentation is required before the application can be accepted. This decision will be made on behalf of the transport secretary.
