The Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport has sent a detailed response to Leeds City Council’s ‘call for evidence’ about Leeds Bradford Airport’s proposals to allow more flights at night.
The airport’s planning applications, known as CLEUDs, seek permission for newer planes, and all late arrivals up to 1am, to fly in unlimited numbers between 11pm and 7am.
Estelle Dehon, from Cornerstone Barristers, who are advising GALBA, said: “It may seem strange, but a CLEUD application could be approved in circumstances where LBA had been breaking night flight rules for 10 years without being caught. However, three of LBA’s applications are not really about this. GALBA say they are therefore not lawful CLEUD applications and so the Council has no choice but to reject them.
“GALBA’s submission argues that the evidence GALBA collated and provided to the Council, much of it from monitoring information generated by LBA itself, shows that LBA’s other two applications are not supported by accurate information. LBA also appears not to have disclosed the breaches relied on in both applications, meaning it is not entitled to CLEUDs.”
In late September, Leeds Bradford Airport asked Leeds City Council to reinterpret the existing rules on night time flying. After a public outcry, Leeds City Council agreed to hold a consultation which ended at midnight on 18 October. The Council will make a decision by 1 November.
Chris Foren, chair of GALBA, said: “What LBA is trying to do is absolutely disgraceful. They clearly don’t care about the health and well-being of their neighbours and they care even less about polluting the climate we all depend on.”
“That’s why we looked in forensic detail at the claims made in their CLEUD applications. We’ve found that the evidence they gave to the Council is full of holes, inconsistencies and cover-ups. We call on the Council to reject all of LBA’s applications.”
Additional notes:
1) GALBA’s response to CLEUD call for evidence: a copy of GALBA’s full response is attached.
2) Night flight rules: LBA operates under a cap on night time flights under its planning conditions. Leeds City Council has responsibility for monitoring and enforcing those conditions. They define the Summer Season as British Summer Time, which is 26 March to 29 October in 2023. The night time period is defined as 23:00 to 07:00 and an aircraft movement is defined as a landing or a departure.
3) Night flight breaches: LBA broke those rules in the 2022 summer season and the Council issued a breach of condition notice against LBA in June 2023. GALBA monitored night flights from LBA in the 2023 summer season and found that LBA had broken the rules again by 18 September this year. GALBA will formally complain to the Council when the summer season ends on 29 October. 4) GALBA: is a group of concerned citizens from across West Yorkshire who successfully campaigned against a planning application by Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA) to expand by three million passengers a year. More information about GALBA is available on our website: www.galba.uk