AN MP has been urged to make his position clear on the expansion of Leeds Bradford Airport.

Sixty constituents of Pudsey, Horsforth and Aireborough MP Stuart Andrew have written an open letter to him expressing their opposition and asking him to make his position clear on the matter.They say every other MP in Leeds, and the majority in Bradford has either objected to the application or written to Secretary of State Robert Jenrick urging him to call in the application.

They say: "Your constituents, in particular, will suffer directly from the noise and pollution caused by an extra 15k flights per annum. Central to the application is a relaxation of flight restrictions which will mean more night flights and more early morning flights. The noise caused by this will have serious physical and mental health implications for your constituents. The pollution caused by the aircraft and the increased vehicle traffic associated with the airport will further exacerbate the already high levels of pollution we face in some parts of the constituency. And on top of this, the increase in flights totally undermines our commitment to reach ‘net zero’ by 2050, according to the Government’s Committee on Climate Change."

Mr Andrew said: "Leeds Bradford Airport is a major employer locally and I have had discussions with a number of constituents who work there who are understandably anxious about their jobs given the impact of the pandemic on aviation.

"The proposal to replace the old terminal, with a carbon neutral facility of a similar scale to the current one, has my support. It is a massive improvement environmentally and our city needs and deserves a better-quality gateway into and out of our region.

"This investment will reassure many of those who depend on the airport for their livelihood. The fact that it is closer to the proposed train station is also to be welcomed. I have long advocated a rail link as a way of reducing the number of cars travelling there which is why I campaigned so actively against the Council’s proposed Link Road.

"That said, the Government have set in law a much more ambitious climate target, cutting emissions by 78 per cent by 2035 compared to 1990 levels. That means that we need to look at the number of flights and their times in more detail to ensure we are doing our bit to contribute to this effort and to avoid creating unreasonable noise nuisance for residents.

"I believe it was wrong that the plans panel were not given the opportunity to look at the flying hours part of the application separately to the new terminal building. I am, therefore, exploring this further to ensure we can safeguard the investment and secure local jobs whilst also ensuring the new ambitious target for emissions is met."