On the 19th of May, LADACAN had their Court of Appeal Hearing for the Appeal against the Luton Rising DCO.
This is what unfolded that day –
The Lawyers for LADACAN attended for what had been ordered and listed as a 2-day rolled-up hearing to consider their request for an extension of time; their Appeal to the High Court judgement against Luton Rising’s Development Consent Order (DCO). But after just half a day, the panel of judges said they “refuse the extension of time and thus refuse permission to Appeal” and ended the session without hearing the permission request or grounds of Appeal.
This bizarre twist has only left everyone feeling that justice had not been served but also that it did not actually resolve the substance of LADACAN’s Appeal against the massive expansion of Luton Airport. But most unfairly, LADACAN were ordered to pay £10,000 of adverse costs without their full submissions against the High Court judgment having been heard.
In light of previous case law, this outcome leaves LADACAN the option to Appeal against this judgment, so that the Appeal against the High Court judgement on the DCO is actually heard.
And, LADACAN have instructed their legal team to file papers requesting permission to apply to the Supreme Court to have the Appeal Court judgment reviewed. As what happened was out of kilter with the original Order and the court listing for a 2-day rolled-up hearing.
The underlying case against the Secretary of State remains strong, that the approval of near doubling of capacity at Luton Airport unlawfully failed to properly assess its climate impact, in ways that matter for every major infrastructure project decision. In the meantime, because that case remains open, Luton Rising does not have a green light to proceed with its massive development project.
We are asking for your support to help LADACAN meet the costs of taking this important public interest litigation to the Highest Court in the UK
PLEASE make a donation using our crowdfunding page by clicking here or by searching online for “Crowd Justice Luton Airport”.
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Every donation helps fund this Court action. Many thanks.