Bim Afolami
Main Page: Bim Afolami (Conservative - Hitchin and Harpenden)Department Debates - View all Bim Afolami's debates with the Department for Transport
(3 years, 1 month ago)
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Bim Afolami (Hitchin and Harpenden) (Con)
Thank you for calling me to speak, Mr Hosie; it is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship. I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate and I thank the hon. Member for St Albans (Daisy Cooper) for giving me that opportunity.
Quite simply, there should not be any further expansion of Luton airport—no ifs, no buts. It is in the wrong place to have a larger airport. As has been outlined by both the hon. Member for St Albans and my hon. Friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Richard Fuller), the airport has consistently shown disregard for local residents and their views. In particular, there is a conflict between Luton Borough Council’s largely financial interests and its need for Luton airport to grow and grow for financial reasons, and the interests of local residents in my constituency, and indeed those in many other surrounding constituencies in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire.
This process should not go on any longer. I urge the Minister to outline how we can stop any further expansion. In addition, I would welcome an update on the flight path reorganisation work being done over the coming years, not just from Stansted but from all the different airports in the south-east, because that will significantly impact the lives of my residents.