HOLIDAYMAKERS have scored a huge win as ministers waved through Luton Airport’s expansion - brushing aside green grumbles from planning bosses.
The London hub got the thumbs-up to build a new terminal, nearly doubling passengers from 18 million to a bumper 32 million a year by 2040.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander defied warnings from planning inspectors about harming the peaceful Chiltern countryside and chopping down a historic veteran tree.
A Government source said: "The Transport Secretary has approved the expansion of Luton Airport for its benefits to Luton and the wider UK economy.
"The decision goes against the Planning Inspectorate's recommendation for refusal. Expansion will deliver huge growth benefits for Luton with thousands of good, new jobs and a cash boost for the local council which owns the airport.
"This is the 14th Development Consent Order approved by this Labour government, demonstrating we will stop at nothing to deliver economic growth and new infrastructure as part of our Plan for Change."
Expansion plans include boosting the existing terminal, building a brand-new second terminal, extending the Dart rail link, adding new taxiways and eco-friendly parking charges linked to vehicle emissions.
Last year, Luton was the UK's fifth-busiest airport with 16.9 million passengers travelling on 132,000 flights.
The expansion will eventually allow up to 209,000 flights per year.
Campaign group Luton And District Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise opposed the expansion application, claiming it would “degrade health and quality of life”, and stating “aircraft noise at night is known to damage health”.
But local leaders backing the project pointed out expansion couldn’t come soon enough after Vauxhall's recent closure of its Luton van-making factory put up to 1,100 jobs at risk.
Luton Council, through its company Luton Rising, says the project is "ready to go," promising around 12,000 new jobs and injecting £1.6 billion a year into the local economy.
By LISA MINOT, Head of Travel
DESPITE the objections of environmental lobbyists, the expansion of Luton Airport can ONLY be a good thing for the UK and its beleaguered travellers.
Airport capacity in the UK has simply not kept up with the pace of demand and increasingly outdated infrastructure is creaking under the strain.
Just look at the fire at the electrical substation last month, resulting in the closure of Heathrow, the UK’s busiest airport for a day impacting more than 270,000 passengers.
We desperately need to invest in our airport infrastructure to compete on the global stage. As an island, it’s even more essential.
Luton has been the butt of jokes since the 1977 classic Campari advert that had Lorraine Chase utter the famous line, ‘Nah, Luton Airport’ - satirising the growth in international travel.
But with the closure of the Vauxhall van factory - putting some 1,100 jobs at risk - anything that brings growth and new jobs to this quite deprived part of Bedfordshire can only be a good thing.
While nothing will happen overnight, the opening of a second terminal will no doubt transform the experience of travelling through what is right now a very cramped airport.
And with theme park giant Universal looking to bring their signature attractions to a brownfield site in Bedfordshire, increasing the connectivity and number of passengers the airport can handle is ever more of a priority.
While there are no doubt going to be environmental impacts, surely the positives the expansion brings can outweigh those?
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