SUPPORT for an airport link road and expansion should be scrapped, according to a Horsforth councillor.

Jonathon Taylor is calling on Leeds City Council to end its support for a proposed link road to Leeds Bradford Airport, which he says would be devastating for the local area.

Speaking at a full council meeting earlier this month he also called for a review of the strategy of expansion, amid concerns about carbon emissions.

Cllr Taylor argued that large quantities of greenbelt land could be sacrificed in order to build a new link road to the airport, wrecking the local environment and contributing to airport growth, which he says would hugely increase the city’s carbon footprint.

He said: “An airport link road would be devastating for the local area in environmental terms. Greenbelt sites in my ward that have only just had a reprieve from being allocated as housing sites could be tarmacked over in order to funnel more traffic to an expanding airport.

“The whole strategy of expanding the airport needs a review in light of the climate emergency. It makes no sense to be identifying carbon reduction initiatives for the city, and yet also supporting a massive airport expansion, one of the biggest producers of carbon emissions that there is.

“The administration must be forthcoming over their plans for airport expansion and the link road. For my part, I will continue to argue that they end their support for both of these damaging policies.”

Leeds City Council has been consulting on three link route proposals.

Option A is to build a new road and footway/cycleway from the A65, running along the eastern edge of the airport before joining the A658 to the north. Option B involves building a new road and footway/cycleway following the same initial route as Option A, from the A65 but running to the south west of the airport, joining the A658 before the tunnel under the runway. Option C is to upgrading the existing A65 and A658 around Rawdon and Yeadon to the airport.

A Leeds City Council Spokesperson said: “The consultation on the surface access to Leeds Bradford Airport Link has been completed and its results have been compiled. Although we would like to discuss the results and had planned to bring a report to the December Executive Board, it is not appropriate to discuss the results of a major consultation during a pre-election period under national guidance. The report will now come to January Executive Board and will be published at the earliest opportunity at 20/12/19.”

At a meeting of Leeds City Council’s climate emergency committee earlier this year LBA chief executive Hywel Rees said the airport had the responsibility for the livelihoods of hundreds of local people.