Representation by St Albans City and District Council (St Albans City and District Council)
- Date submitted
- 12 June 2023
- Submitted by
- Local authorities
Whilst St Albans City and District Council is broadly content that the three Hertfordshire host authorities are representing the interests of Hertfordshire as a whole, St Albans City and District Council raises strong objections to Luton Borough Council in respect of the potential of the proposal to increase aircraft noise to residents in the St Albans City & District area and in respect of the potential of the proposal to increase pollution and traffic impacts. Issues are longstanding and there is a history of the Council objecting to proposals to vary existing consents at the site. The expansion of the airport comes at a time when the environmental impacts associated with air travel are of national and global concern and the Council ask for careful consideration as to whether the expansion of the airport is justifiable in principle in these circumstances. In any event, the Council considers that any increase in noise, pollution and traffic impacts to residents in the District is unacceptable. There would be an increase in the number of additional dwellings affected by from noise (particularly during the night-time period) which is unjustified and unacceptable. As it stands the Airport has a history of breaching existing contour levels and applying for variations to existing permissions. Any further permission should only been granted if the Examining Authority is satisfied that expansion of the airport can take place without exacerbating existing unacceptable noise levels that are experienced by residents within St Albans District. St Albans City and District Council considers that any permission would require significant mitigation measures and commitments within the application that should be enforced through a legal agreement and/or planning conditions and that the airport should be subject to regular noise monitoring that clearly demonstrates compliance with imposed limits. The increase in passenger numbers also raises concerns in relation to pollution and traffic impacts. The proposed increase in passenger numbers would result in an increase in daily traffic flows on roads that already suffer significant congestion. This Council would like to ensure that assumptions regarding the use of public transport to access the airport in future years has been properly interrogated and that sufficient mitigation exists within public transport infrastructure to support the expansion of the airport and resulting increase in passenger numbers and that the expansion takes into account the cumulative traffic impact resulting from anticipated growth in the surrounding districts.