Representation by Steve Gent
- Date submitted
- 22 June 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I wish to object against the DCO application, as it will have an adverse impact upon my health and quality of life, along with that of other local residents and nearby communities. I’m a resident of South Ward in Luton, living on Seymour Road. Even living in a relatively new property built in 2005, with double glazing throughout, the noise disturbance is immense. This is not just through the day but also the night, including the early hours of the morning. It is at its worst when flight directions are switched during the day, and you have to suffer the noise of flights departing from early morning and throughout the day, and then having arrivals coming in continually through the early morning hours - resulting in very little sleep, especially during summer months when sleeping is difficult anyway. Even if flights are limited to one direction throughout the day, the noise is unbearable. Often during the evening you have to pause the TV, otherwise the programme would be drowned out. Similarly if you are outside, conversations have to be stopped until the aircraft has passed over. No noise mitigation proposals will be able to address this specific issue. Luton Rising have been vague throughout their consultations as to the impact of their proposals at a specific property level. I challenged them during the consultation process to identify which properties would fall within each noise contour band as this could affect compensation proposals and how residents responded. Disappointingly I was advised by Graham Olver that they had taken legal advice and were of the view that it was not possible to release this information until after the consultation had finished, as if they did it then, people who have already responded wouldn’t have seen it. Instead they were proposing to release it on the Luton Rising website at an unspecified later date, but prior to the DCO submission. To date I can’t see where this information has been released, and is consequently another commitment not met. I am also concerned about the proposed destruction of a well established local park that has County Wildlife Site status, not only due to the loss of a well used and loved local amenity, but also due to the uncertainty of what toxic substances may be uncovered during any excavation works of the former unregulated Council tip. No replacement is proposed within the Borough of Luton itself, and any “alternative” would take many years/decades to mature if ever it was possible to get anywhere near to the status of what would be destroyed. Luton Borough Council say that they are committed to a net zero strategy, but by proceeding with this DCO application through their subsidiary company, they are doing the complete opposite. The DCO will lead to large swathes of park land being lost, and substantial road alterations (including the installation of 11 sets of traffic lights) to provide for increased traffic through the Wigmore area. The fact that they are providing for over 50% increased parking capacity at the airport shows that despite the introduction of the DART, they are fully aware that there will be substantially increased traffic volumes with resulting fuel emissions in a highly residential area and close to three local schools. I believe that the proposed Eaton Green link road breaches the local plan that was adopted in 2017. Aside from the traffic movements themselves, residents in both South Luton and Wigmore already suffer from airport passengers using residential streets as their car park - typically going away for 1 to 2 weeks and leaving their vehicles behind often in the most inconvenient locations. Luton Borough Council’s only solution is to impose resident parking schemes which come at a cost to residents (increasing each year) and are often ineffective as the Council fails to enforce them adequately. These would be the main reasons that I wish to object, but I would wish to expand on them in more detail during the course of examination of the application, including if possible having the opportunity to raise my concerns during any public hearing.