Luton Rising, the owner of Luton Airport, financially incentivised such rapid expansion that the Airport Operator exceeded its noise limits for 3 years running. Then they applied to almost double capacity to 32 million passengers a year. 90% of those who responded objected to noise blight and log-jams on road and rail services, as well as hugely increased carbon emissions. The recommendation of National Planning Inspectors was to refuse this application, but on 3rd April 2025, this was overruled by the Secretary of State for Transport, Heidi Alexander.
The Development Consent Order process
Luton Rising applied for a Development Consent Order (DCO) for its massive airport expansion plan because of the huge environmental impacts. The public Examination heard detailed opposition from local Councils and groups including LADACAN. Local people overwhelmingly opposed the application because its environmental impacts would degrade health and quality of life across the whole area, as well as destroying Wigmore Valley Park.
After carefully weighing the evidence, the Inspectors recommended the application be refused due to its noise and environmental impacts and likely overloading of local roads and rail infrastructure. The Secretary of State overruled and granted the application on 3rd April. There is now six weeks for any legal challenge to be raised. The government’s Climate Change have recommended a moratorium on any further airport expansion until at least an over-arching carbon emissions plan has been drawn up consistent with Net Zero obligations.
The Labour government should have the courage to rein in airport expansion and manage demand down, as a necessary and responsible step towards trying to bring climate change back under control before it is too late. Costs of damage due to climate change are spiralling – it makes no economic sense to worsen it.
Finding out more
All the application documents and procedural letters from the Examining Authority (the Panel of five Inspectors) are on the National Infrastructure Planning website at this link >> Infrastructure Planning: Luton Airport
You can then select the Documents tab and click on the blue “View Documents (beta version)” button. Select the “Developer’s Application” section and use the Filter to choose a document based on its subject or name. This screenshot has orange arrows to show the relevant controls:
Continue to press your MP for the plan to be refused
This plan will have massive impacts on the local environment all around the airport. Please urge your MPs to continue to oppose it: worsening climate change makes no economic sense. A larger Luton Airport, flying over the towns and villages of Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire, adding carbon emissions at a time of Climate Crisis, jamming local roads and exporting money overseas on cheap flights is unsustainable. Luton Borough Council – which owns the Airport – should heed its own Climate Emergency declaration and deliver a better airport, not a bigger one.
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This expansion is planned solely to make money for Luton Borough Council. It is not needed and will have a bad effect on the surrounding villages and on the environment.
If you go to an event, do have an open mind and make sure that you get to talk to those people who can discuss your areas of interest and concern. This is not as straightforward as it should be, as data is literally laid out in large piles on tables and there is no list of the experts present and their responsibilities. Members of the Luton Rising management team will be thin on the ground and most of the experts are contractors. You will have to ask “helpers” to point out relevant people
Some suggested areas to probe:
1. Ask why significant earthmoving takes place in phase 1, in 2025, see timetable below, when not needed until phase 2a, which is not due to start until 2033, and doesn’t appear to be particularly green
2. Understand the assumptions for control of “Green Controlled Growth”
3. And how will the proposed Environmental Scrutiny Group have appropriate powers to measure performance, police it, and be properly funded and resourced to undertake its “key” role
4. Challenge the assumptions selected for key metrics such as air travel growth, quieter planes, green fuel etc, etc bearing in mind the significant impacts of Brexit, Covid, binding carbon reduction and the inherent errors of forecasting out for over 20 years
5. Challenge the modelling of theoretical data to produce forecasts of averaged daily noise contours which do not reflect the impact of real noise levels, particularly during peak periods and ask about the current absence of fixed noise monitors in those residential areas which suffer the most from take offs and landings.
6. Ask why does the airport continue with night flights, especially noisy freighters
7. Ask why the target for public transport access to the airport is set at 40%, Heathrow is targeting 50%
Had the misfortune of attending the latest Luton Borough Council carbon-fetish roadshow in Slip End on Saturday. Benefits boards front and centre, environmental drawbacks pushed into a side area. Neat trick that. Given the Council’s headlong rush to ruin the local area for all I’m only surprised they did not suggest a coal fired power station to run the airport, with transport links provided by steam locomotives! All-in-all these are terrible plans for airport expansion which must be strongly opposed. My objections will in going in ASAP.
At face value, the proposed 80% increase in passenger capacity means:
80% more flights
80% more noise
80% more pollution
80% more congestion in road and rail travel to the airport.
The pre-Covid situation on flight frequency and their timing in unsociable hours, noise and pollution was already the subject of local objections over a wide area. Hence arguments claiming major amelioration or reduction in the above impact will not be credible or acceptable unless they result in lower levels of disturbance than in 2018-2019.
I strongly object to this enormous expansion of Luton airport activity.