Judicial Review of Luton Airport expansion – update and call for donations

The Judicial Review hearings into the expansion of Luton Airport took place in the High Court on 4th and 5th November, covering five of the six grounds for legal challenge. Now there is a delay before the sixth and final ground can be heard, which means higher legal costs. Can you help by making a donation?

At the hearings, the expert legal team led by Estelle Dehon KC argued that the Secretary of State’s decision to overrule the recommendation of planning inspectors and permit massive further expansion of Luton Airport was unlawful. Estelle is a leading barrister specialising in environment and planning law, with particular expertise in climate change, net zero and energy infrastructure.

The hearings covered the first five of six grounds of challenge – see below. The final ground, relating to reliance on the Jet Zero Strategy, has been postponed pending the outcome of an application to appeal the legality of that Strategy by the Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport (GALBA).

Unfortunately the delay in hearing this final ground means additional legal costs.

We are continuing to support LADACAN (Luton and District Association for the Control of Airport Noise) with this ongoing campaign. If you would like to make a donation, you can do so on our website with a note to say ‘Luton Airport’ so that we can ensure the donation is distributed to the legal challenge. 

Donate now

Every donation no matter how large or small will help with this and is greatly appreciated.

Grounds for legal challenge

The Judicial Review challenges the decision on the following grounds:

1. Error of law in excluding from the environmental impact assessment the greenhouse gas emissions from inbound flights, contrary to the “Finch v Surrey County Council” decision.
2. Unlawful failure to take account of a material consideration, by failing to consider the treatment of inbound flight emissions by the Examining Authority in relation to the expansion of Gatwick Airport.
3. Error of law in excluding from the Environmental Impact Assessment the likely significant impacts of non-CO2 emissions on the climate, contrary to Finch.
4. Error of law in concluding that the Government’s duty under the Climate Change Act 2008 to adopt policies and procedures that ensure the legislative duty to reach net zero is complied with was a “pollution control regime”.
5. Error of law in failing to give adequate reasons for finding compliance with section 85(A1) of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.
6. Error of law in relying extensively on the Jet Zero Strategy, which is itself unlawful.

Why this legal challenge is so important

If the airport expansion goes ahead it will have a devastating impact on the environment and cause irreversible damage to the countryside. This includes severe harm to the nearby Chilterns National Landscape (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty).

The expansion would destroy Wigmore Park, a local wildlife site and public green space, in order to build a new terminal and related facilities and add 77,000 more flights per year (including increasing night flights by 70%). Existing road and rail traffic congestion would increase by 15 million more passengers per year than in 2024, and overall capacity at Luton Airport would nearly double, to 32 million passengers per annum.

The quality of life for hundreds of thousands of local residents across Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire would be affected.