Consultants claims about jobs growth are misleading

It is claimed that 440 new jobs are created per million passengers, and 1750 ”indirect” jobs, are also created. These claims are made without the solid facts to back them up. The actual growth in jobs at the Airport in the eight years to 2009 based on Luton Borough Council’s (LBC’s) annual employment survey, has been around 70 jobs per million passengers per year.

The Airport produces its own job count through the annual monitoring report, but since 1997 it has changed the way it calculates jobs on three separate occasions (2001, 2004 and 2010).   The claims about an additional 400+ jobs being created with every one million extra customers are often based on jobs data from the 1990’s, but they do not reflect changes in technology that have made airports more efficient including online tickets and boarding tickets,  electronically check in’s and automated baggage handling.

LADACAN have conducted a detailed analysis based on the mathematical model used by consultants Halcrow for the East of England Plan, and conclude that the jobs total may rise from 8,200 in 2010 to 8,600 in 2015 and then stay fairly static or even decline.

A recent report from the Aviation Environment Federation called: Airport jobs – false hopes cruel hoax explains how in the past UK airports have exaggerated the number of jobs created by airport expansion for their own ends. In fact, between 1998 and 2004, despite a 30% rise in air passengers, the total employment attributed to airports and airlines actually went down.

The report was written in 2009 by Brendon Sewill, who has an economics degree from Cambridge and is a former adviser to the Treasury and the British Bankers Association, a member of the Council of the National Trust, a member of the CPRE (Council for the Protection of Rural England) national executive and vice president of the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers.

Hertfordshire Against Luton Expansion is born

Anglia Regional News | Anglia Tonight – ITV Local.

Increasing aircraft noise – the evidence

What they say: “the noise contour for the airport is shown to reduce in the future, even with the increase in the number of aircraft taking off and landing. This is because the noise aircraft make is reducing all the time; by 2025 most of the existing older fleet will have been replaced by newer, quieter aircraft and therefore the overall impact of air noise from the airport will reduce over time.” (Future Luton consultation website)

What we say: “Look at the evidence below. Aircraft operating out of Luton Airport are newer and bigger and the level of daytime and night time noise is increasing”.

All of the graphs come from data used in Luton Airport’s own Annual Monitoring Reports

Airport claims about reduced noise are inaccurate

Local groups campaigning against plans to expand Luton Airport have criticised information put forward in the consultation as misleading. The public consultation which began on 16^th February can be found online at www.futureluton.co.uk  claims that over time the noise from the airport will reduce despite the number of passengers doubling from 9.5 million to 18 million per year.

The consultation claims that aircraft will become quieter in the future, yet evidence from Luton Airport’s own Annual Monitoring Report is at odds with this, and shows that in recent years the level of aircraft noise from the airport has increased dramatically.

Andrew Lambourne a resident of Flamstead has been looking more closely at noise data from Luton Airport’s Annual Monitoring Reports and explains: “We simply took the airport’s own figures for different noise levels and presented them in a more transparent way. We found that in 2005 8% of departing daytime flights were above 76dbA (the noise level that the government defines as resulting in community annoyance) by 2010 this had doubled to 16%. At night 10% of flights were louder than 76dbA in 2005 and this had also doubled by 2010 to 20%. The other noise levels they quote are also increasing. These figures clearly show that flights are getting noisier over time, not quieter. ”

The steady increase in noise is explained by the change in mix from smaller 737 aircraft to newer, heavier Airbus 319/320 and 737-800 aircraft. “The Future Luton team has said they forsee the use of bigger planes to accommodate the growth in passenger numbers. The evidence clearly shows that larger planes are noisier and not quieter. I am staggered that the consultants can so glibly  state that aircraft noise will decrease when the evidence clearly indicates that this has not happened in the past even with newer aircraft,” he added.

Hertfordshire residents have recently formed a campaign group, HALE (www.hale.uk.net) which has been working closely with other airport campaign groups including LADACAN, LLATVCC and No More Flights. Cllr Judy Shardlow who maintains the No More Flights website said: “Campaigning groups are united in their criticism of these proposals which seek to double the capacity of the airport. Luton has no restrictions on night flights, unlike other airports in the South East. Over the years the passenger capacity at Luton Airport has been steadily increasing, our roads are clogged with and damaged by airport traffic and our communities are overflown day and night by off-track aircraft. It is time that local residents say ‘enough is enough’ and reject Luton Borough Council’s plans which will blight our communities. People only have until the 26^th March to respond to the consultation before a planning application is submitted to expand the airport.”

Full details about the Airport expansion consultation can be found at www.futureluton.co.uk and public meetings are being held in Harpenden on Saturday 25^th February at Harpenden Public Halls from 10am-5pm and on Thursday 1^st March at Wheathampstead Memorial Hall from 2-8pm followed by a public meeting from 8-9.30pm.

Airport consultation delayed – by one week

London Luton Airport Limited (LLAL) owned by Luton Borough Council has announced a delay in the start of the consultation to expand Luton Airport. They claim that more time is needed to consult with planning officers from Luton Borough Council’s planning department. The consultation will now start on the 16th February and run through to the 26th March, before a planning application is submitted in April.

The plans to double the size of the airport and to increase the numbers of flights from the current 9.5 million per year to 18 million per year, have been met with alarm by many local residents concerned about the noise nuisance already created by the airport and the lack of restrictions on night flights.

Judy Shardlow said: “A delay suggests that they have not fully thought through this proposal and I am concerned that this creates confusion among those who might want to respond to the consultation. The six week consultation is also too short and at  the end of this process we have the prospect of Luton Borough Council effectively giving planning permission to their own company (LLAL), unless the application is called in by the secretary of state.”

A public exhibition of the proposals will be held in Wheathampstead Memorial Hall on 1st March from 2-8pm part of which will include a public meeting held from 8-9.30pm.

The full programme of Luton Airport Consultation Events PDF can be found here.

Airport Consultation – put a poster in your window

Make sure that everyone knows about the proposals by Luton Borough Council to double the size of Luton Airport, by putting a poster in your window or rear windscreen of your car. Posters are being produced for community notice boards to draw attention to the public exhibitions in Wheathampstead and Harpenden but the more people who are aware of the plans the better. If you click on the poster below you will be able to print off a copy for your community noticeboard or window.