Representation by Alan Craig
- Date submitted
- 14 June 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
The ruling Labour Council, which has partisan support and cannot be changed by those most affected by the airport expansion plans, is hellbent on a slash and burn programme. It can only see profit from an expanded airport without understanding the significant damage to the environment and to peoples' well being that is going to be caused by destroying a large country park, many thousands of trees and rare plants, displacing wildlife and concreting over more and more of the town. To do this at a time of great concern regarding the effects of CO2 emissions, is entirely reprehensible and goes against the council's own Green Policies. It is by any measure a plan that can only be described as hypocritical and vainglorious. I am not anti Luton Airport per se. I have used it many times. I was fully aware of its existence when I moved to the area 35 years ago, albeit it was then a very small regional hub. However, the council cannot have it both ways. In the 1980s it allowed large housing expansion towards the airport in order to benefit from council tax money it knew it would receive from residents, but sensibly left a buffer in the form of Wigmore Valley Park. However, decades later, after already insidious airport growth, the council has now decided to bring the airport right to the doorstep of those houses by building over a treasured park in order to fulfill plans of increasing passenger numbers to an eye watering level. It seems that LBC/Luton Rising only has one blinkered aim; in order to expand to its desired 32mppa they are intent on destroying Wigmore Valley Park at any cost and constructing major roads in the area to service their prized megalith 'New Century Park'. The truth is that Luton Airport was never in the right place to be grown as a major hub. It sits too close to a large town and to built up areas in North Herfordshire and Buckinghamshire that aircraft have to overfly. The current noise and fumes that are experienced are enough of a real concern, but the hidden damage caused by CO2 is quite another thing. The present CO2 levels from operations will pall into insignificance compared with almost doubling aircraft movements and providing for huge increases in cars and service vehicles arriving at the airport. That is before any consideration is given to the massive CO2 emissions that will be caused by the works involved in felling trees, digging up a capped toxic landfill site, building New Century Park and all the new roads needed to service the new project. The plans show that the new roads will blight large residential areas. People will be living with the constant drone of passing traffic in what is still a relatively leafy quiet part of the town. Schools will be affected, with one in particular -Wigmore Primary - sitting on high ground, being majorly exposed to the increased noise and fumes from planes and road traffic. The council says it has a plan to offset CO2 emissions, but this is based on relocating Wigmore Valley Park to a new area (misguidedly outside of the county), which many people will simply be unable to access and where the ameliorating effect of new tree planting, to replace the thousands destroyed, will not be seen for 20 to 30 years. It is based on plane operators being encouraged to invest in next-generation jets, which the Council has no control over. It is based on encouraging passengers to arrive by public transport and use the new Dart transit system, which will have virtually no affect as people are wedded to their cars - which the council well knows as it also plans to massively increase car parking at the airport. The whole scheme is pure madness and cannot be allowed in a fair society. If increased passenger numbers are deemed necessary, why not look to develop somewhere like Manston or a second world war airfield remote from a large populace?