Leeds Bradford Airport Terminal: 'No excuse' for Government delay says airport boss who says noise from Westminster is for passengers to fly from Manchester

Speaking at a Yorkshire business event in Parliament, Vincent Hodder said that the message being given to passengers in Yorkshire by both of the House of Commons was to "go to Manchester" rather than travel from Yorkshire.

In his first public comments on the matter, Mr Hodder told the CBI/Barclays Yorkshire MPs reception in Parliament's Churchill Rooms, that similar plans to improve facilities at airports around the country had been signed off and delivered economic benefits for their regions and added that the Government's decision to call in Leeds Bradford's £150m upgrade proposal was an example of it blocking investment into the region.

Mr Hodder said: “We are talking about a business that wants to go ahead to invest private funds in building world class infrastructure for our region.

"And I am sorry but the message we are getting back from Westminster, from both sides of the house, is go to Manchester.

"That is what we face as a business community. We want to invest, we want better infrastructure for our communities, for our employees, for our customers.

"Government sets the framework but if the framework is about getting in the way of making an investment, how are we able to move forward?

"How can we as a business community move forward when it seems that at every stage there are obstacles put in our way."

Plans to upgrade Leeds Bradford were first put forward in January 2020 to knock down the pre-existing 1960s building and create a new energy efficient facility on the same site, with a view to be operational by 2023.

Leeds City Council signed off the plans last year but following objections by campaigners the Government decided to call in the upgrade for a review in January, with a date for the hearing yet to be confirmed.

Speaking to a cross-party panel of MPs, Mr Hodder said: "[When we are] talking about transportation, talking about infrastructure, talking about investment by private enterprise, HS2 is not not going to fulfil what the original promise was.

"Northern Powerhouse Rail has been watered down and Naz Shah has talked about how Bradford has been left out of that process.

"And at the same time, the only way of getting transport in and out of Leeds has been held up by the Government for 10 months with no excuse and has now been called in, despite the fact that Bristol and Stansted airports have been through the planning inspectorate and in both cases found that the answers to all the questions were positive and that those investments should go ahead.”

He added: "We are talking about a business that wants to go ahead to invest private funds in building world class infrastructure for our region.

"And I am sorry but the message we are getting back from Westminster, from both sides of the house, is go to Manchester.”

Objectors have claimed the new airport will generate harmful carbon emissions owing to an increase in flights but the airport was given permission to increase passenger numbers from four million a year to seven million as far back as January 2019, 12 months before the new airport plan was unveiled, and have consistently stated it would not seek to raise the passenger count with the new terminal.

The Barclays/CBI event gave members of Yorkshire’s business community the opportunity to question a panel of MPs, with Beverley and Holderness MP Graham Stuart, Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones, Bradford West MP Naz Shah and Leeds Central MP Hilary Benn.

Mr Benn, an opponent of the airport’s new terminal, told the event: “There is an alternative for car transport that is batteries, there is an alternative for rail with electric and hydrogen trains. But until relatively recently it has not seemed possible for aviation to sustain itself to a zero carbon future given that you basically burn kerosene to put planes in the air.

“The aviation industry would like to expand, let’s be honest about that. Aviation is going to have to demonstrate that it can be part of the zero carbon future and we are beginning to see change. Hydrogen planes and electric for short term and so on.

“The moment that future becomes visible, I will be perfectly happy for people to get on planes and fly around the world without destroying it.”

The YP contacted the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities regarding Mr Hodder's comments but did not receive a reply.