The secretary of state for transport has announced that the airport will be allowed to expand
Yesterday it was confirmed that the application for a London Luton airport expansion is being allowed to go ahead.
The expansion will eventually raise the number of passengers per year from 18m to 32m.
The London Luton airport expansion will feature many new buildings
The expansion will see new terminal capacity, new taxiways and transport infrastructure, landside support buildings, surface access adjustments, mitigation work, and more.
The planning application as originally sent to the Planning Inspectorate on 27 February 2023, accepted for examination on 27 March 2023.
The examination saw consultees and interested parties giving evidence to the Examining Authority, and recommendations were made to the secretary of state on 10 May 2024.
This marks the 57th transport application examined out of 152, and shows that local communities are prioritised and allowed to be involved in the examination of projects that may affect them. Considerations were given to everything from air noise to the impact on the local environment.
“A decision in favour of growth”
The Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) has previously called upon the government to make decisions on, and promote delivery of, critical infrastructure. This included the London Luton airport expansion, and said that such projects would provide more clarity and stability to the construction industry, especially in the likely troughs the industry would see post-election.
Recent statistics show that the industry is indeed struggling at the moment, echoing the CECA’s warnings and potentially meaning that large infrastructure projects like this may be the key to turning that around.
The director of operations for the CECA, Marie-Claude Hemming, said: “Industry will welcome this decision as a decision in favour of growth and of building a brighter future for businesses and communities.
“CECA has argued for many years that closing the UK’s aviation capacity gap is a prerequisite to ensuring that Britain remains globally competitive and continues to be an attractive place to live, visit, and do business.
“The expansion of Luton Airport will add as much as £1.5bn to the economy in additional GDP and will create thousands of highly skilled, well-paying jobs.
“We look forward to working with CECA members, the Government, and other stakeholders to ensure the benefits of airport expansion at Luton – and elsewhere – are subject to no unnecessary further delays, so that the UK’s aviation sector can become a thriving part of our national infrastructure, rather than operating at the limits of its capacity, as it has done for many years.”
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