Luton council has insisted that it is not scaling back plans to expand the city’s airport following reports that it has decided to delay building a second terminal to save £1bn.
So exactly why does the Council need to hold another consultation then when the last one was only an outline with no confirmed detail? Seems they have no strategy or vision of what they are trying to achieve and it is all getting rather messy. . Why are they spending £243m on the Dart that won’t be required for many years that will replace a service that costs the airport nothing? Why are they also planning to spend £124m on a dual carriageway to nowhere? Why is the Dart and access road not part of the new concessionaire agreement rather than piling more debt on to the Council and LLAL?
So who will fund the existing terminal extension and when, the Council or the existing franchise holder who has to just walk away in 9 years time with nothing? By the time an extension is actually needed those remaining years will be even less so there will be no return on the investment unless the extension is just a tarpaulin or circus tent. I would doubt the government will allow the council and its company LLAL to fund it. Interesting times lay ahead.