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Legal action has been threatened against the government over the major expansion to London Luton Airport as a campaign group signals a judicial review.
Ministers gave the green light last month for construction to begin on a new terminal and taxiways. The goal is to nearly double the airport’s annual capacity from 18m to 32m passengers.
Transport secretary Heidi Alexander overruled advice from planners to reject the project until it met certain environmental conditions.
The Planning Inspectorate warned the government that the additional capacity would impede the “relative tranquillity” of the nearby Chiltern Hills.
However, the Department for Transport (DfT) statement said that “after careful consideration,” secretary” Alexander opted to ignore those recommendations and accept the airport’s development consent order.
Now, campaign group Luton and District Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise (LADACAN) has said it has taken the first step towards a legal challenge via law firm Leigh Day.
In a letter to Alexander, the group signals the start of the judicial review process, arguing the transport secretary ignored the recommendation of national planning inspectors.
The proposals were examined in August 2023 and took six months to complete. The inspectors’ report was then sent to the previous government, but the general election and the resignation of former Transport Secretary Louise Haigh delayed consideration.
Haigh resigned last November after admitting pleading guilty to a criminal offence tied to her incorrectly telling police that a work mobile phone was stolen in 2013.
LADACAN is arguing that Alexander’s decision was unlawful, and in a letter, the group calls on the government to accept that conclusion.
Commenting on the decision, Leigh Day partner Ricardo Gama said: “Our client’s position is that the secretary of state should not have overruled the recommendation of expert planning inspectors by approving the expansion of Luton Airport, in spite of climate change and other harmful impacts of the development.”
“They believe that growth at the expense of everything else, including the government’s net zero obligations, has longer-term costs which outweigh any benefits.”
“We hope that the secretary of state will reconsider her decision in light of our letter,” he added.
A DfT spokesperson said: “Following careful consideration, the Secretary of State has approved Luton Airport’s application to expand its passenger capacity via the construction of a new passenger terminal and additional aircraft stands.”
