A group campaigning against the expansion plans for the airport has hit out at a neighbouring town for not opposing the proposals strongly enough.
The Luton and District Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise (LADACAN) said the plans to expand capacity at Luton Airport from 10 million to 18 million passengers per year are ‘not being taken seriously enough by Harpenden Town Council and the Harpenden Society’.
John Davis (pictured), from LADACAN, said: “Planes routinely overfly Harpenden especially when the wind is in the east.
“The expansion plans as we understand them will increase the frequency of flights in the early morning rush between 6am and 7.30am from one every two to three minutes to one every 90 seconds. This is a real concern to people who live under the path these planes currently take.
“The B653 going towards Luton, especially through the narrow section at Batford, would be almost impossible to widen due to existing housing, and significant extra passenger journeys could gridlock this already busy road.
“With a further round of consultation due in September, and a planning application in November, now is the time for people to take this seriously.
“The A505 brings in substantial airport traffic and would also be affected, plus the High Street and A1081.
“Rail services are becoming almost tolerable again in rush hour thanks to 12-car trains – but what will happen if hundreds more arriving passengers get on upstream at Luton Airport parkway?”
Nicola Linacre, Harpenden Town Mayor, said: “Harpenden Town Council takes very seriously the proposed expansion of Luton Airport and will undertake a full exercise to respond to the application in the next round of consultations due next month.
“The council’s response to the last consultation exercise was to object to the proposed increased capacity to 18mppa.
“We believe there are fundamental problems with the proposed expansion of Luton Airport, which centre mainly around noise, congestion on our local roads and overcrowding on trains.”
A spokesman from the airport declined to comment on LADACAN’s claims.
