Should London Luton Airport really be expanded?
- elliehaine
- May 13
- 4 min read
Every airport is talking about expansions recently, but how will London Luton Airport’s fair?
Initially opened in 1938 to serve as a northern terminal for London, London Luton Airport has continued to steadily expand until to become the fifth busiest airport in the United Kingdom. Unlike most other airports, London Luton Airport (LLA) is not owned by a private investment company, rather it is owned by Luton Rising, a company which is in turn owned and administrated by Luton Borough Council. Airports such as London Gatwick are all owned by a mixture of international shareholders and investment companies.
Whilst the idea of a community airport sounds lovely in theory, in practice it has been linked to many issues. This, and other environmental concerns, have led to the expansion of Luton Airport becoming a contentious and highly protested topic in the local area. Luton Borough Council has also previously approved the Luton DART (Direct Air-Rail Transit) that now acts as a shuttle between Luton Airport Parkway train station, and Luton Airport. It ran over budget and took a little over five years to be built – which is certainly more than the original goal of just three years. In an interview, Peter White who is involved with the group ‘Stop Luton Airport Expansion (StopLAE)’ said:
“Luton Rising, when it puts in its planning applications for what it wants to do with the expansion, those planning applications will go to Luton Borough Council. So, Luton Borough Council will be marking its own homework. Luton Borough Council wants that money so it's not going to say no. That's the difference.”
He continues:
“Up until about four or five years ago, the whole of the board that was Luton Rising was made up of Luton councillors and Luton Council officers. So, in the last four or five years, they've started bringing in people from outside. That has meant that they're spending money on these people because even though they're supposedly independent, of course, they have to be paid. So, that is one of the tangible things, the fact that Luton Rising are Luton Borough Council because all the Luton Rising employees are technically employees of Luton Borough Council.“ This shared interest can cause some pretty major concerns, because, functionally speaking, the people making the long-term decisions in relation to the airport are the same people approving said decisions. Major planning decisions are put forwards to Parliament and to the Planning Inspectorate.
The recommendation was made to reject the planning application. The Examining Authority provided a report to the Inspectorate and Secretary of State which recommended that consent should not be given for the expansion. Asides from the very friendly relationship between the two entities, there has been significant concern raised about the environmental impact of the airport expansion. The plans feature an expansion on to Wigmore Valley Park which currently sits on the site of an old landfill. The expansion would also cover part of an aquifer.
Local councils continue to oppose the expansion alongside activism groups. St Albans City and District Council, via communications officer John McJannet said they have:
“considered the consultation documentation provided by the applicant in this case but raises strong objections in respect of the assessment of need for the expansion of the airport given the uncertainty around future demand for air travel and the long-term impact on the UK economy resulting from the covid-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the need is not justified in the current climate crisis and the proposed expansion of Luton Airport also needs to be questioned in view of the Government’s ‘levelling up’ agenda.
“The Council further raises strong objection regarding the potential for these proposals to increase aircraft noise; traffic generation and pollution to residents in the St Albans City & District area.” Overall, the council objected to the expansion plans on environmental concerns, stating:
“Yes – our Councillors objected to the expansion plans for these and some other reasons.”
He also stated on the topic of jobs: “Yes, no doubt some people living in the District will benefit from the new employment that will be created.”
In a similar vein, local activism group LADACAN (Luton And District Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise) and their representative Andrew Lambourne said:
“The local area would be very significantly impacted by any further expansion of Luton Airport. Its planes can fly at any time of day or night over both urban and rural communities, often at low level, creating noise disturbance which prevents people being able to have conversations outside, wakes them at night, and causes stress which in turn can cause health problems. Harm is also caused to areas of outstanding natural beauty such as the Chilterns. And the Airport owner plans to destroy a County wildlife site to build a second terminal and more car parks. The proposed increase in passengers would create more traffic congestion and noise, as well as leading to around 70,000 more flights a year by 2043 – increasing both carbon emissions, particulate emissions and global warming through contrails.” It is worth mentioning that every expansion can increase carbon emissions.
On the topic of jobs, he said:
“It is claimed that there are economic benefits from aviation expansion – so yes, some additional perhaps low-grade zero-hours jobs are created – or displaced – but there are downsides too. Increased traffic congestion penalises other businesses. Harms to health caused by noise and poor air quality increase NHS costs. Encouraging more cheap flights exports money which people take overseas to spend. And the costs to the economy due to damage caused by climate change are increasing – with aviation being one of the hardest sectors to decarbonise. So it’s not a simple picture.” Jobs were one of the main talking points mentioned by Luton Rising in applications and promotional material. The airport expansion will create disruption and potential environmental concerns, but could positively affect the jobs market for a brief period. Unfortunately, only time will tell what effect the expansion.
Luton Borough Council and London Luton Airport declined to comment.
