Airport planning question mark

A proposal to double the number of passengers using Luton Airport will be decided by national inspectors and not the town council, ministers have vowed, as some local MPs attacked the scheme as “unsustainable” reports the London Evening Standard.

In a debate at Westminster, Paul Maynard MP in his position as parliamentary under-secretary of state at the Department for Transport, before moving on to become Government Whip (Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury) stated:  “I am happy to confirm that as a nationally significant infrastructure project it will be a decision taken by the planning inspectorate, with reference back to the secretary of state.”  Luton Council is both the owner of the airport and the local planning authority.  The minister said that the airport was already "actively engaged" in local consultation reinforced by comments made by council representatives at a press briefing just before the holiday break.  (See BTN 18 December 2017)

Airport chair Cllr Andy Malcolm said: “London Luton Airport is a huge success story. On the back of 44 consecutive months of passenger growth, it is the fifth largest and fastest-growing major airport in the UK”. 

The debate on the very long-term future of the airport does not affect the current ongoing redevelopment which coincides with plans to celebrate the airport's 80th year later in 2018.

www.london-luton.co.uk

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LTN may be the fifth largest in the UK, but it probably remains the worst customer experience of any UK airport...!