Representation by The Hughes Household (The Hughes Household)
- Date submitted
- 23 June 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
Our main concerns are: Excessive air pollution - We have major concerns that the additional particulates in the local environment will worsen our health and the health of the local wildlife, there are numerous medical studies by reputable institutions that evidence the determinantal affects from air pollution particularly with regards to chronic conditions such as asthma and dementia. This also runs counter to our countries ambitions to be a green leader. We are firm believers that we can meet our green ambitions, but it doesn’t take an expert to see that the technological advancements to make planes pollution-free are not likely to be achieved any time soon unless organisations are forced to do this through regulatory control. Planting trees elsewhere in the country or world may well offset airlines’ carbon emissions but it will not offset the pollutants that will fall disproportionately on our local environment here in the Chilterns. Excessive noise pollution - Current nighttime flights disrupt our sleep, especially when the wind is coming from the East and the planes are on a different approach route to the airport. This happens frequently, at all times of year, even with the windows closed. Increasing the volume of passengers to these levels will inevitably increase this disruption which will also be detrimental to our health through sleep deprivation. Also, the Chilterns is a beautiful part of the world that should not be taken for granted. A big part of that appeal is being away from roads, the general noises of humanity and enjoying the quiet and peace of wildlife. My partner and I often go for walks in the evenings and on weekends. The existing air traffic is already noticeable on these walks, sometimes to the point where we must stop and let planes pass before we can continue our conversation as we are unable to hear one another. Doubling passenger numbers will likely double the amount of disruption and vastly limit the calming benefits of these walks. Traffic congestion – Local traffic in the Hitchin area is already considerably congested especially in the morning and evening rush hour periods, more than doubling journey time. Increasing passenger numbers to these volumes will inevitably add to this congestion. Whilst we recognise Luton Rising are trying to encourage individuals to use public transport to get to the airport, this expansion will also lead to many more cars heading to and from the airport that will affect local roads, that have had little to no improvements to address existing congestion issues. This will further exacerbate these congestion issues and will result in additional emissions from cars stuck in traffic that will consequently affect the health of individuals and wildlife in the local area. Financial impact – We recently purchased a house in the area and if we had been aware of Luton Rising’s ambitions to expand passenger numbers to this extent we would have not bought in this location. I am certain an expansion to this extent will have a detrimental impact on the value of our house potentially trapping us in a house that no-one wants to buy due to the reasons stated previously.