As COP28 continues, Cllr Richard Roberts, leader of Hertfordshire County Council, criticises Luton Airport's plans to increase passenger numbers to 32 million a year.

Airport expansion is a polarising issue, with those set to benefit from the employment and economic boost in favour, while those adversely impacted by the negative effects of increased noise, traffic and pollution firmly opposed. Hertfordshire County Council falls categorically into the latter camp.

The county council was opposed to the proposals in 2013 to increase capacity to 18 million passengers per year and more recently to 19 million, predominantly on noise grounds, but also on the uncertainty in relation to the pressures this would place on local infrastructure. Both of those proposals were permitted and of course communities know only too well the adverse consequences of the airport’s substantial growth and the resultant inability to comply with the noise control set out in the planning permissions. The county council has welcomed and is very supportive of proposals to change flightpaths to try to protect communities, but persistent delays and distant timeframes are incredibly frustrating. For many, the existing airport is already causing too many problems.

But there is something very different about the latest proposal to increase passenger numbers to 32 million per year – the sheer scale of growth, the extent of the area over which the impacts could be felt, and the timeframes involved. We believe this expansion will have a profoundly negative impact on the lives of many people and communities across Hertfordshire, with increased levels of noise, pressures upon infrastructure, and detrimental impacts upon our landscape, including on the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The county council has committed substantial resources to engage with the process, the purpose of which it twofold. Firstly, so that Government can be in no doubt as to the scale of and reasons for opposition from Hertfordshire. Secondly, to ensure that, should Government decide it should be allowed, we get the best deal we can to protect communities and secure funding for any infrastructure improvements to mitigate future impacts.

So how much is too much? Well, many communities in Hertfordshire would say what we already have is too much, but 32 million passengers per year? That’s too much for sure.