The letter to Mr Hodder CEO of Leeds Bradford Airport and the signatories is below:
Dear Mr Hodder,
The residents of Leeds have had a long and fruitful relationship with Leeds Bradford Airport, enjoying the opportunities for travel as well as benefitting from the jobs created in our local economy.
However, any meaningful relationship has to be built on mutual trust.
We are writing with concerns which we believe have the potential to significantly damage that trust.
Night flying has become a very contentious issue locally.
We note that having only recently (June of this year) received an apology from you for breaching planning conditions, residents are incredibly concerned about the recent “clarification” which it is believed may lead to a consistent increase in night flights.
We understand you are proposing that night flying is just for quieter planes. Can you clarify which of the current planes that fly out of Leeds Bradford airport will not meet the criteria for “quieter” planes?
We further note that the developer has failed to apply to vary the relevant planning conditions but rather sought to do so in effect, but via a different route, namely a certificate of lawful use. We are concerned that this route seeks to circumvent important procedural safeguards in planning law and query its legality. Please can you confirm that this is not the case?
We believe that any proposed changes should have been subjected to an environmental impact assessment (under Schedule 2 of the EIA Regulations 2017) since the changes are, in effect, an extension of the development (as regards use). There are reasonable grounds to believe that the changes to night flights may have significant environmental impacts (on the basis that most modern aircraft would meet the standards you propose) thereby significantly increasing greenhouse gas emissions (for example). Please confirm whether the council has adopted a screening decision in relation to the application for the certificate.
You will be familiar with the judgment in Hatton and Others v. the United Kingdom. The ECtHR made clear that night flights engaged Article 8 ECHR and relied heavily on the robustness of the decision-making process (including monitoring of impacts and detailed analysis of health impacts in relation to Heathrow in particular) to reach the conclusion that it did. We struggle to see that robustness is replicated here either in terms of evidence base or public participation such as it is in relation to the application for the certificate. Accordingly, any decision to grant the certificate by the Local Authority subject to the process currently envisaged seems to us to be at risk of legal challenge.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Signed By:
Katie White OBE, Climate Campaigner
Ray Jones, Leeds City Councillor for Horsforth
Emmie Bromley, Leeds City Councillor for Horsforth
John Garvani, Leeds City Councillor for Horsforth
Jamie Hanley, Chairman of Leeds Trinity University and Legal Director of the GMB Union
John Eveleigh, Former Mayor of Otley
Simon Dowling, Horsforth Town Councillor
Gill Garvani, Horsforth Town Councillor
Andy Wishart, Horsforth Town Councillor
Aiden Goulden, Horsforth Town Councillor
Mark Fletcher, Horsforth Town Councillor
Francesca Gains, Horsforth Town Councillor
Eddie Hyndes, Horsforth Town Councillor
Julio Tumalan, Horsforth Town Councillor
Becky Cousins, Horsforth Town Councillor
Dave Brosnan, Horsforth Town Councillor
Simon Ellis, Local Resident
Nigel Gill, Otley Town Councillor
Richard Davies, Otley Town Councillor
