Leeds-Bradford Airport Terminal Gets Green Light

Leeds-Bradford Airport is to get a new terminal building after planners at Leeds City Council gave the scheme the go-ahead.

Work on the three-storey terminal building is now set to start this year, creating 850 jobs and enabling the two cities to have better links with international destinations. It is expected to raise annual passenger numbers from four million to seven million by the 2030s.

There had been opposition from environmentalists, but the council voted in favour by nine votes to five. It concluded that in many respects the new building will be a greener option than leaving its 1960s predecessor in place.

It stated: “The airport’s plans showed that the proposed new terminal would replace the outdated and inefficient existing terminal and be built to a higher standard of environmental performance.”

Elements like insulated roofing sheets can help make modern buildings much more energy-efficient than older ones, a consideration any new airport construction project will need to address in view of the pressure placed on the aviation sector by the green lobby. 

In this particular case, the airport argued the new building will be one of the most energy-efficient structures in place at any UK airport.

Plans to advance the development of the airport in an environmentally-friendly way have also included reducing the number of car journeys there through the creation of a new Parkway station for the airport.

The proposed 42 million station would be located on the line from Leeds to Harrogate between Horsforth Station and the Bramhope Tunnel, with a park and ride and bike parking facilities providing a connection across the short distance between the station and the airport.

Suggestions that a more direct link be provided to the airport have been rejected on cost grounds, with the money for the station becoming available following the collapse of the Leeds Trolleybus scheme.

The station is one of several plans in for the funds, which will also include improving Leeds Central Station and better road links the airport.