Representation by Marilyn Whittle
- Date submitted
- 22 June 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I oppose Luton Airport’s application to increase passenger capacity to 30 million. I oppose any further expansion of Luton Airport. I feel that London Luton Airport (LLA) and Luton Borough Council (LBA) have abused the planning system up to now by its recent major expansion of passenger numbers, from 9 million passengers per annum to 18 million passengers per annum from 2015 to 2019 when their documented proposal promised an incremental increase to 18 million from 2015 to 2028. Before their last huge expansion, LLA were operating a ‘dispersal’ system of departures so that the flights were fanned out over a wide area. With the expansion, the increase in the number of flights was exacerbated by the fact that, suddenly, Jersey Farm and Sandridge found themselves at the centre line of a new ‘concentrated’ flight path which was introduced in 2016. There was no proper consultation for residents who live in Jersey Farm and Sandridge as it was deemed, by LLAOL, that we would not be impacted by any disturbance. The LBC planning department did nothing to monitor this situation and although the CAA voiced concerns about noise in their Review, they were persuaded by LLAOL that residents would notice very little difference. This error of judgement has seriously impacted our quality of life. The effects of what was ‘new noise’ has been unacceptable. LLA promised respite for our area by directing flights on to alternative routes for periods of time but this has never materialised, and there are no plans in the pipeline to commit to this. LLAOL promised that they would introduce a minimum altitude of 10,000 feet when flying over this area – apparently this is not going to happen either. As well as the huge increase in flights – planes are instructed to remain at 4000 feet until they reach the railway to the west of Sandridge and Jersey Farm (less than a mile away) before being free to climb at full throttle over our houses. Luton is 11 miles away! No consideration has yet been given to residents impacted by the resulting noise from such an aggressive expansion of the airport, nor any attempts to redress the mistakes already made by the airport and the LBC planning department. For this reason, I strongly oppose to any further expansion, especially to such a huge number, yet again, because it is already destroying our area and causing severe transport issues. We have lost the enjoyment of our homes and gardens because of the impact of aircraft noise. Is this how Airspace Modernisation is meant to be?