Government was not unlawful in airport expansion

The High Court has ruled the government did not act unlawfully when approving an expansion of London Luton Airport.

Campaign group Luton and District Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise (Ladacan) had challenged the development consent granted by Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander.

Planning inspectors had advised that the proposals be rejected as the benefits did not outweigh environmental harm, which the secretary of state disagreed with.

Nick Platts, the managing director of Luton Rising which owns the airport, said he welcomed the decision.

Last year London Luton Airport was the UK's fifth busiest airport with 16.9 million passengers, a figure they want to double to 32 million by 2043.

The expansion proposals included a new terminal, an extension to the current airfield platform and new facilities.

Ladacan first launched its legal claim in May, writing to the transport secretary to oppose her backing of the scheme.

The group argued that the approval of Luton Airport's expansion was unlawful because it ignored key climate and environmental impacts.

It also said the decision to expand Gatwick Airport had considered greenhouse gas emissions as a key factor, but the decision had been done differently for the Luton project.

Mrs Justice Lang dismissed this argument and found that the Gatwick case was not a binding precedent and involved different circumstances.

She also rejected environmental concerns, ruling that the secretary of state had lawfully assessed climate impacts.

Andrew Lambourne, the chair of Ladacan, said: "Everyone – except apparently the government – can see the worsening effects of global warming.

"We believe it is reckless to continue piecemeal airport expansion based on poorly evidenced claims of economic benefit, whilst ignoring the ever-increasing costs of damage caused by climate change."

Ricardo Gama, who represents Ladacan, added: "While our clients are clearly disappointed about this result, they are considering all options, including an appeal to the Court of Appeal."

A spokesperson for the Department for Transport said: "We welcome the High Court's decision to uphold our approval of Luton Airport.

"We are committed to backing expansion where it aligns with our environmental and climate commitments.

"This includes harnessing the growth potential of increased capacity at Luton to create local jobs and deliver growth through our plan for change."

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