Tarn Spotter, the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Leeds City Council have already said they will be building both the parkway station and link road over the next few years and the money is already in place for the parkway station, so I am unsure why you have concerns about airport growth without these developments. If they are not built as we are told they will be, then LBA will not grow much anyway. You cannot have one without the other, so the growth will be dependent to a large degree on the transport infrastructure being put in place. You have stated that the Airport Masterplan doesn't cover the pollution issues but you are entirely incorrect. Firstly the Masterplan does show the link road and rail proposals as it is a key part of the airport's future planning, but in any case there was an additional Airport Access Document that goes hand in hand with the Masterplan that specifically covers such issues. Quite how you can claim therefore that the airport has not covered pollution is beyond me, as it is very much at the forefront of their planning.
Whilst I recognise air pollution as a key issue (wherever in the city you happen to live), the vast majority of that pollution is from road traffic that is NOT going to the airport - the through traffic I mentioned previously, much of which would be diverted along the new link road, assuming Option A is confirmed. Whilst aircraft obviously contribute to this, LBA's aircraft movements are a long way short of being the major culprit. However, I assume that since you invest in the airline industry, being a Ryanair share holder, you are not unduly concerned with regard to the pollution created by aircraft?
Organisations making promises of link roads and train stations and master plans outlining what may happen if these take place are miles away from positive steps.
I accept I am a shareholder of Ryanair and also have been of Dart Group for two decades and hope to support them to further growth.
I also own transport company and in 1968 moved to LPG for all trucks and cars and whilst electric is now becoming more mainstream, were doing huge work on hydrogen and as it takes only 5 minutes to fill a car tank, wonder whether this may be the fuel of the future.
Yet our government is trying to save two old fashioned concepts, petrol and diesel and the e.u. has frustrated hydrogen plans (wonder why) and failed to support electric battery concepts developed by the u.k., again on competition worries.
You cant stop everything, so air travel has a place, cant agree that the majority of the local traffic is non airport, 64% of LBA passengers are "Kiss & Fly", therefore they make four journeys to the airport, taxis & mini buses 20% again 4 journeys and public transport 5%, every growth of passengers increases local demands.
The "Surface Access Strategy" built its hope on a link road and train station, two years in, we have not even got the route agreed or the land for both purchased. The SAS policy was to reduce "Kiss and Fly" and move traffic to public transport, its target via public transport for 2030 was 25% of airport traffic, and a similar figure for airport staff travelling on their own by car, if you take the figures in 2016 were 5% for taxi and 9% for workers we have a huge way to go.
If you add that 8% of new cars are now electric and to my knowledge non of the airports car parks have either charging or local garages hydrogen pumps (will the new garage have?), my friend parked at scentinal (more car journeys) and paid for a electric charge to return at 2am in the morning to a flat battery and no one with keys to enable it to be recharged.
I have never in the last 40 years voted against any local planning measure at LBA, in fact I fought locally to extend flying hours in 1987, I cant see I ever will, unless the hard airport supporters put forward, totally crass plans.
