In an important victory for all-round sustainability, and for the campaign opposing the major expansion of Leeds Bradford Airport, the Planning committee of Leeds City Council yesterday (16th April 2009) overturned the recommendations of their officers to approve the planning application that would have permitted a huge expansion of the airport.

Instead all the councillors expressed serious concerns about the scale proposed growth, the inadequacy of the surface access proposals, impact on climate change, potential noise disturbance and other issues. So they decided unanimously to defer a decision pending the submission of further information on all these matters, and a much better report.

Before the meeting a good-humoured demonstration by the No LBA Expansion campaign had drawn the Council’s attention to the seriousness of these airport proposals.

Anthony Rae, from Friends of the Earth, who spoke to the committee on behalf of the campaign, said:

“We commend this committee and its councillors for the careful scrutiny they gave to this quite inadequate planning application, and their responsibility in not caving in to pressure from the usual quarters to just rubberstamp anything submitted by the airport. Our campaign was not objecting to the idea of the airport providing a better terminal building for the existing number of passengers, and at this stage we were only asking for the application to be deferred - because it is important that all the requirements of the planning framework are properly met. The Council committee agreed with this approach.”

Anthony Rae continued;

“This is just another stage in our campaign, with more to come. The airport failed to provide the sustainability appraisal required by the Council’s development plan, and we will be taking steps to see that they do this. Then somehow they are going to have to demonstrate to the Council how an already congested local highway network can cater for a potential 70% passenger growth in just four years, which amounts to an additional 1 million car trips per annum. We know that the existing surface access strategy for the airport is completely inadequate, and will be submitting any proposals they make to rigorous scrutiny”.

Download Friends of the Earth’s detailed comments about the planning application here, and their shorter briefing here.

Also, you can take a look at the media coverage of the Leeds City Council decision. Please note: some of the newspaper articles state that the planning application has been refused. This is not correct; it has merely been deferred.

Yorkshire Post: Airport’s £70m expansion plan under threat in transport clash

Yorkshire Evening Post: Controversial Leeds-Bradford airport plan stays grounded

Bradford Telegraph & Argus: Major blow to airport as expansion plans rejected

Wharfedale & Airedale Observer: Setback for LBA expansion bid as opponents make their voices heard

Look North: Airport expansion meeting held

AirportWatch: Controversial Leeds-Bradford airport plan stays grounded

Greenpeace Blog: Leeds Bradford expansion grounded