Airport expansion 'a once-in-a-generation opportunity'

Lord Hutton said planning the expansion of Luton Airport was "not going to be easy; the conditions are tough"

The number of passengers flying in and out of London Luton Airport (LLA) is expected to rise to 32 million per year by 2043 after the government approved its expansion.

With Universal planning to building its first theme park in Europe close to Bedford, many tourists are expected to use the airport, currently the UK's fifth-busiest, bringing a possible double economic boom to Bedfordshire.

Lord John Hutton, the Labour peer and former MP, has been appointed as the chairman of LLA's board to oversee the next phase of the airport's development and said he "wants to get the airport expanded".

He added: "We've got a unique once-in-a-generation opportunity to do something really significant for the local economy; we can put hundreds of millions of pounds into the Bedfordshire economy and the surrounding areas."

The airport is owned by Luton Borough Council, through economic development company Luton Rising, but is operated by LLA, a separate company.

This partnership between "private and public is its biggest strength", Hutton said.

"The income from Luton Airport provides a third of Luton Council's budget and is enabling Luton Council to really focus on some of the very significant economic and social challenges that they're facing in the town," he added.

"So it's a win-win if we do this."

Hutton said the development consent order, which the government gave in April, "paves the way for the other really exciting developments that are taking place in the local economy, particularly the development of Universal Studios".

He continued: "I see the two projects closely linked - Luton Airport can play a significant role in accommodating the visitors and getting them in and out in the best way."

London Luton Airport is owned by Luton Borough Council

Annual passenger numbers at London Luton Airport are expected to rise from 19 million a year to 32 million

He said it would mean the airport and Universal sitting down together to work out a "masterplan".

"We've got to seize the opportunity with both hands because they don't come around very often - I think most people around the country would give their eye teeth to have projects like this side by side," he said.

He said that following the closure of Luton's Vauxhall plant in March, with the loss of about 1,200 jobs, "this is a major, major opportunity to make good the loss that we've already sustained and actually build on it".

The airport's annual passenger capacity currently stands at 19 million, and about 14,000 people are employed in and around it.

If the expansion went ahead, 11,000 new jobs could be created, said Paul Kehoe, independent chair of Luton Rising.

The expansion plans include a new terminal building for the Bedfordshire airport

However, not everyone approves of the expansion.

Campaign group Luton and District Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise (Ladacan) has begun the first steps of legal action against the government.

It said the government ignored the concerns of local people, and the plans were granted unlawfully.

Andrew Lambourne, its chairman, alleged that Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander ignored a recommendation by planning inspectors to reject the expansion plan due to environmental concerns.

"The impact on people's health, through noise, especially at night, and the added congestion on road and rail service would be problematic," he said.

"The extra traffic visiting the theme park and travelling to and from the airport will further compound the problems on the M1. It's in the wrong place for massive further expansion.

"It's notorious for any airport expansion to overstate the claimed economic benefits without having regard to the economic costs."

Last month, a Department for Transport spokesperson said it was unable to comment on this claim due to "ongoing legal proceedings".

Alexander said expansion would "deliver significant economic benefits", which was "a key reason for my decision".

LLA is the UK's fifth-largest airport and is operated by Aena, the world's largest airport operator

Hutton said growth in passenger numbers was inevitable but that the airport should be trying to accommodate it in the least polluting way and using the quietest aircraft it could.

"The government has set some very rigorous environmental standards, both on pollution and noise, and, crucially, using public transport to access the airport," he said.

"We can't do the expansion unless we tick the box against all of those conditions.

"The exam question that we've been set is 'Can we do this in an environmentally sustainable way?'

"We believe we can, and the benefits of that will be significant both nationally for the UK economy: nearly £1.5bn.

"I want people to think about the jobs, the economic growth, the prospects, the careers for generations of young people.

"I'm sure we can rise to this challenge."