Representation by Daisy Cooper MP
- Date submitted
- 23 June 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I am applying to register as an interested party in my capacity as the Member of Parliament for St Albans, to note my OBJECTION to the proposed Development Consent Order (DCO) that would increase the passenger capacity of Luton Airport to 32 million passengers per annum, to be achieved by expansion of the current terminal and the construction of a new terminal and associated facilities. Fundamentally, I oppose any further expansion of aviation capacity on the grounds that the Committee on Climate Change and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change both strongly recommend urgent measures to reduce demand for air travel. Emissions from aviation are growing at a faster rate than any other mode of transport. Any increase in air transport capacity at one airport must therefore be matched or exceeded by a corresponding reduction at other airports, in order to meet the UK’s commitment to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050. In addition, I have grave concerns over the impact of aircraft noise on my constituents and the surrounding communities; the lack of binding targets in the so-called Green Controlled Growth Proposals; the lack of ambition in the application to improve air quality by reducing PM2.5, PM10 or NO2 concentrations; the failure to recognise greenhouse gas emissions by the aircraft using the airport; congestion and capacity issues arising from surface access plans; and perceived conflicts of interest in permitting Luton Council to act as investigator and regulator of the airport's operations, given their financial interest in the airport's commercial success.