TLT
12 Dec 2025
The High Court has dismissed a legal challenge to Luton Rising’s planned expansion of London Luton Airport brought by local campaign group Luton and District Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise (LADACAN).
The judgment provides welcome clarity on some key issues for infrastructure scheme promoters, including on the approach to assessing the effects of greenhouse gas emissions.
Tom Henderson, who leads TLT’s legal team advising Luton Rising, and team member Will Massa, provide a summary of the ruling...
This is the first case to consider how R (Finch) v Surrey County Council [2024] applies to airport schemes, where the interaction between project-level emissions and national climate policy is complex.
The judgment suggests that, provided decision-makers engage properly with the evidence and explain their reasoning, there is a reasonable margin of discretion in how they assess Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions...
