The clause reads as follows
No later than 12 months of the annual passenger throughput at the airport exceeding 4.5m, LBA shall submit a planning application together with full supporting information including a transport assessment, draft travel plan and heads of terms for a planning obligation for such further development at the airport requiring express planning permission as would be necessary to facilitate an annual passenger throughout in excess of 5m.
I’m not a lawyer but my interpretation is that the legal obligation is to submit a new planning application within a year of passenge numbers hitting 4.5m. I think claiming that it limits the airport to a maximum throughput of 5m is a bit of a stretch. A legally enforceable cap on passenger numbers, if that was the intention, would need to be much more explicit - as I believe is the case at Stansted and Bristol which do have caps on passenger numbers. I’m not surprised GALBA have tried to spin it the way they have - it’s entirely in line with their approach. It doesn’t make it true though.
No later than 12 months of the annual passenger throughput at the airport exceeding 4.5m, LBA shall submit a planning application together with full supporting information including a transport assessment, draft travel plan and heads of terms for a planning obligation for such further development at the airport requiring express planning permission as would be necessary to facilitate an annual passenger throughout in excess of 5m.
I’m not a lawyer but my interpretation is that the legal obligation is to submit a new planning application within a year of passenge numbers hitting 4.5m. I think claiming that it limits the airport to a maximum throughput of 5m is a bit of a stretch. A legally enforceable cap on passenger numbers, if that was the intention, would need to be much more explicit - as I believe is the case at Stansted and Bristol which do have caps on passenger numbers. I’m not surprised GALBA have tried to spin it the way they have - it’s entirely in line with their approach. It doesn’t make it true though.