Luton Rising has announced that it has officially cleared all required legal processes to deliver its long-term sustainable growth plan to increase the airport’s annual capacity from 19 million passengers to 32 million passengers by the mid-2040s.
The projected growth is expected to create up to 11,000 new jobs whilst generating up to an additional 1.5 billion GBP in annual economic activity, and marks Luton Rising’s position as the UK’s first council-owned company to secure a Development Consent Order in April 2025.
All growth will respond to demand, and will be delivered through Luton Rising’s Green Controlled Growth framework, which will implement limits on noise, carbon emissions, air quality and surface access, moving beyond a target-based approach in order to provide surety and full transparency to local communities.
Luton Rising has provided over 500 million GBP worth of investment for local frontline and community services since 1998, and now intends to build on that legacy with a ‘significant’ additional community dividend from the growth plan – the Community First Fund.
The Fund will aim to secure a direct link between growth passenger numbers and community investment, with an additional 1 GBP invested – on top of its existing community funding programmes – for every additional passenger above the current 19 million passengers per annum capacity.
By the mid-2040s, it is proposed that the new fund could provide up to an additional 13 million GBP per year, with a guaranteed 40% (up to 5.2 million GBP per year) available to neighbouring communities outside Luton and close to the airport.
During the first five years, the fund’s priorities will focus on decarbonisation projects and initiatives that tackle poverty.
Cllr Tahmina Saleem, Leader of Luton Council, said:London Luton Airport sits at the heart of our town, and I’ve seen first-hand what Luton Rising’s community investment funding can mean for local families – helping lift children out of poverty, bringing greater employment opportunities, and giving young people the self-belief that they can go further in their aspirations.
As the airport grows, so does the power to change local lives and so we are determined to make the most of this once-in-a-generation opportunity.
