As you will be aware, the Relevant Representations part of the process closed at the end of June.
Those of you who registered your thoughts should have now received an e-mail from the Planning Inspectorate informing you of the date for the Preliminary Meeting, which will discuss the procedure for the application. This meeting will be held on Thursday 10th August, commencing at 1000 at the Riverside Suite, Venue 360, Gypsy Lane, Luton.
Full details can be found here:- https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/wp-content/ipc/uploads/projects/TR020001/TR020001-001182-R6 Stitch.pdf.
This meeting will then be followed by two initial open floor hearings, both at the same venue.
The first is also on the 10th August commencing at 1830, the second on Friday 11th August from 1000.
Full details of what will happen at these meetings, how to register to attend, or watch on livestream can be found on the above link.
The Planning Inspectorate website now has a list of the documents covering areas of disagreement which were raised by Local Authorities and opposition groups including LADACAN. These documents can be found at the link below, by scrolling down to the documents list:- https://national-infrastructure-consenting.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/TR020001/documents?date-from-day=10&date-from-month=07&date-from-year=2023&date-to-day=12&date-to-month=07&date-to-year=2023&searchTerm=&itemsPerPage=25.
It would seem Luton Borough Council also has concerns, which is odd as the airport development is its own creation! The Council’s Submission details a raft of concerns, which it, as the local Planning Authority, should have been controlling anyway.
However, as we know, commercial income, and an obsession with creating low pay jobs, trumps all other concerns, so it is not difficult, is it, to see why the Council has not?