London Luton: Revised Masterplan
Sep-2012 Consultation prior to submission of planning application
London Luton Airport Operations Limited (LLAOL) has a concession with London Luton Airport Limited (LLAL), which is a company wholly owned by Luton Borough Council, to operate London Luton Airport (the Airport) on its behalf until 2031.
In March 2012, we published a draft masterplan document setting out our vision to increase passenger throughput at the Airport to 15-16 mppa by 2028 (our initial concession expiry date). This development was wholly contained within the Airport boundary. We made a commitment to prepare a planning application based on the development outlined in the masterplan and taking account of the feedback received during the consultation period.
In parallel, LLAL undertook a public consultation exercise on a masterplan for a separate scheme to increase the passenger throughput at the Airport to 18 mppa by 2025, in advance of preparing its own planning application.
LLAOL and LLAL have subsequently reviewed their respective proposals and agreed that a single planning application should be prepared and submitted by LLAOL. Both parties have agreed that the planning application should seek consent to improve passenger facilities and enable the Airport to accommodate 18 mppa by 2031.
LLAOL is now planning a series of sustainable improvements to enhance passenger experience and provide additional capacity. This will ensure that London Luton continues to play its important role as London's local airport.
Airports need to adapt to meet changing regulatory requirements, new technology, environmental and community expectations and, from time to time, new construction is needed to meet these requirements and expectations.
LLAOL has undertaken a thorough review of all of the operations at the Airport and has now, after extensive analysis, identified some important improvements that are needed to allow the Airport to continue to grow and function even more efficiently during the next 19 years.
These improvements are set out and explained in a revised masterplan document. LLAOL is also preparing a planning application, which will be submitted to Luton Borough Council to obtain the permission needed to undertake these proposed improvements.
Your comments on the revised masterplan and the proposals for the planning application are invited and will be taken into account by LLAOL.
By 2030, the Department for Transport (DfT) forecasts that demand for air travel through London's airports will have risen to 180 million passengers per year. Within that market, the DfT currently forecasts that passenger demand at the Airport will grow to 17 million passengers per annum (mppa) under the maximum use scenario.
LLAOL's vision is for the Airport to play its full part in supplying that demand by providing capacity for 18 mppa and welcoming passengers who will choose and use the Airport with confidence and ease. In short, our vision is a bigger, better airport, fulfilling the crucial role of providing more, high quality capacity in the London system.
Using extensive consumer research, conducted throughout 2011, we have identified both our weaknesses and our strengths. Most of our weaknesses derive ultimately from the size of our estate. The Airport is built on 245 hectares of land. The two airports closest in passenger throughput to Luton, Birmingham and Edinburgh, have 330 and 367 hectares respectively.
To overcome this basic limitation, we foresee a future defined not only by the highly efficient use of the infrastructure we already have but also by a realistic appraisal of the new capacity we can credibly and sustainably build.
Key to our approach is the vision of a 'balanced' airport. We will make better use of existing buildings and add more space, in the access road, in the terminal and on the airfield, providing increased capacity in each component of the Airport, carefully matched with one another.
Our vision for London Luton Airport in an increasingly competitive aviation environment is market-leading efficiency, for which tightly balanced systems are essential.
Efficiency is already one of our strengths and we intend to build on it further. London Luton's compact size is also a source of strength, making the Airport quick and easy to use. Again, we will build on that strength, keeping aircraft manoeuvring times and passenger walking distances to the minimum. Indeed, we aspire to retain our local "feel", whilst further expanding our already international scale. This revised masterplan envisions a London Luton Airport playing a major part in the London system of the future whilst retaining its sense of place and its ease of use. In brief, it envisions London's local airport.
LLAOL's main proposals for the future of the Airport are:
- Dualling the road from the Holiday Inn roundabout along Airport Way into the heart of the Airport, the 'Central Terminal Area'.
- Improving the public transport area adjacent to the terminal building
- Constructing a multi-storey car park on part of the existing Short Term car park to provide additional parking capacity if passenger demand arises in the future
- Bringing the currently unused parts of the terminal building back into active use.
- Extending the front of the terminal building to create a new entrance foyer with more passenger seating and retail areas on the upper level.
- Building a new southern 'pier' with gates for passengers to gain access to their aircraft.
- Reorganising the internal layout of the terminal building to create a more logical route through the building from check in, through security to passenger waiting lounges and then to the aircraft boarding gates. This will also apply to arriving passengers who will have an easier route from their aircraft through to immigration control, baggage reclaim and then out of the terminal building.
On the 'airside', the operational part of the Airport, improvements include:
- An increase in the number of stands where aircraft will be parked - through some reorganisation and the creation of some new areas of hardstanding.
- Provision of a new taxiway parallel to Taxiway Delta
- Extension of the taxiway which currently runs parallel to part of the main runway - which will increase the number of aircraft that can use the runway each hour.
The improvements will also allow the Airport to increase its capacity up to 18 mppa, compared with the 2011 level of 9.6 mppa.
Our planning application will carefully examine the implications of these proposals.
Projected economic impact of the Airport
| . | Existing Impact | Approximate masterplan impact | Total approximate Airport economic impact |
| Annual value to the local economy | £780m | £218m | £998m |
| Annual revenue for local and central government | £187m | £65m | £252m |
| Total | £966m | £283m | £1.23bn |
| Jobs related to the Airport | |||
| Direct local jobs | 8,200 | 1,700 | 9,900 |
| Approximate total jobs (including indirect and induced) | 14,000 | 4,500 | 18,500 |
The Airport already makes a significant contribution to the local economy. As indicated in the table above, the proposed development will increase levels of direct and indirect employment associated with the operation of the Airport and the increase in passenger throughput will increase the economic value of the Airport, both to the local and regional economy and the revenue generated for local and central government.
The anticipated key environmental issues associated with the development proposals are listed below. These will be addressed as part of the EIA and planning application.
- Air quality and climate
- Community and health
- Cultural heritage
- Ecology and nature conservation
- Economic and employment
- Ground conditions
- Hydrology and water quality
- Landscape and visual impact
- Noise and vibration
- Traffic and transportation
- Waste
More detail on the proposals is set out in our revised masterplan document. We invite comments on the planned changes at the Airport and on the environmental issues we need to consider in our planning application.
Refer to full documentation in attachments box, located at the top left, below the headline.
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