Leeds Bradford Airport consultation extended as support group claim airport is 'unreasonably targeted'

The LBA Support Group claim the Yeadon airport and the aviation industry more generally are being "unfairly targeted" by opponents of the plans.

LBA want to build a new "state of the art" £150m terminal which would include three main floors with improved vehicle access.

It would also be closer to a proposed parkway rail station, announced by Leeds City Council last year, and would allow the airport to welcome seven million passengers per year by 2030, compared to the four million it hosts now.

In a statement, the Support Group said: "LBA serves two of the largest cities in the UK together with much of the wider Yorkshire region, yet it lags behind in fifteenth place by passenger throughput, being one of the smallest regional airports in the UK."

They said LBA has spent "many years trying to make up lost ground on competing airports" and add that the current terminal facilities are "woefully inadequate".

Three Leeds MPs have submitted formal objections to Leeds City Council and 90 academics from the University of Leeds have this week asked the authority to reject the proposal.

The council announced yesterday (Wednesday) that it was extending the period in which people can submit their comments on the planning application by three weeks, until July 7.

The support group said LBA's weaknesses meant it struggled to attract airlines and affected job prospects in the region.

They said: "A substantial number of Leeds City Region air journeys, in particular those that are business related, are currently being taken from neighbouring airports such as Manchester, leading to unnecessary car journeys, traffic delays and greater CO2 emissions than would be the case if those same passengers were able to use flights available from LBA.

"The availability of such flights and the nearby location of the airport they operate into is a key factor considered by businesses when deciding where to locate or who to do their business within the UK."

Leeds City Council declared a climate emergency in March 2019, outlining an ambition to “work towards” a net-zero carbon city by 2030 as a result.

The Support Group said it agreed Leeds should be working towards reducing carbon emissions but that "this needs to be done at national and international level so that we can have a level playing field with neighbouring regions and, crucially, their airports."

UK aviation accounts for around seven per cent of the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions, but its share of emissions is likely to continue to increase as other sectors decarbonise more quickly, according to a government report.

The Support Group said "only a very small proportion" of the UK's emissions come from LBA.

The airport was granted approval for a terminal extension in 2018, but their new plans require separate planning permission from the council.

The Support Group added: "As such we feel the aviation industry is unfairly targeted generally, whilst LBA is currently being unreasonably targeted based on supposed 'growth' which in reality was approved two years ago.

"Meanwhile LBA's owners' attempts to significantly reduce emissions from the airport terminal to zero are being dismissed as meaningless.

"If LBA is unable to pursue its plans for a state of the art green terminal, it has the option to proceed with the already approved, but inferior plans, enabling the same seven million passenger throughput by 2030, but with terminal facilities which will never be carbon neutral or meet all of today's exacting standards."

Regarding the extended planning consultation period, a Leeds City Council statement read: "Due to the level of interest generated by the planning application concerning Leeds Bradford Airport, and the amount of documentation submitted as part of it, Leeds City Council is extending the formal period for making comments by three weeks to Tuesday 7 July.

"Any representations should therefore be submitted before that revised deadline; however all comments received prior to a decision being made will be taken into account.

"Details of the application can be viewed and comments can be submitted on Public Access by entering the application reference number 20/02559/FU."