Extinction Rebellion and GALBA protest against Leeds Bradford Airport expansion plans

Socially-distant protesters gathered outside Leeds Art Gallery today in support of the Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport (GALBA).

The 'Ride for the Noise' socially distanced event - which took place between 3 and 5pm - saw many follow a fancy dress theme of “wings for birds and bees, not planes”, dressing as winged creatures.

More than 50 protesters gathered outside the gallery steps - with a silent protest from a group of people dressed in red.

Leeds XR, together with GALBA (Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport) took a bike ride across the region 'to show everyone in West Yorkshire how far the noise pollution will travel if the expansion is approved'.

On the Facebook group for the event, Leeds XR said: "The people of Leeds will show how we feel about this crime of ecocide against citizens and the world."

LBA submitted plans to build a new £150million terminal in early 2020.

In the plans, they claimed that the ‘state of the art’ terminal would include three main floors with improved vehicle access.

It would also be closer to a proposed parkway rail station, announced by Leeds City Council last year.

The terminal would accommodate seven million passengers per year by 2030.

Extinction Rebellion has held several protests this year against the expansion plans, both outside Leeds City Council’s Civic Hall headquarters and outside a public consultation meeting held at the Mercure Parkway Hotel.

The group claims the proposed expansion, yet to be approved by council planning chiefs, will add to climate change due to the increased number of flights likely to take place.

An Extinction Rebellion Families Leeds spokeswoman said in a statement before the protest: "It breaks my heart to see that businesses, corporations and individuals are still putting profit before the health and wellbeing of humans and all life on this planet.

"When we are facing the worst crises ever imagined - heat waves, floods, droughts and famine; when the world has been struck to stillness by a novel pandemic; when there are hundreds of thousands of people already suffering and dying due to man-made climate related problems; when will it finally be enough?

"I will be able to look my daughter in her eyes and tell her I tried to put an end to this madness, that we knew there was a better way to live and I fought for it with everything I had.

"I hope that more people realise that if we join together for the same cause we will have the power to change before we destroy ourselves completely."

A spokesperson for Leeds Bradford Airport said: “We value feedback from our communities on our proposals for a replacement terminal.

“While we can appreciate that people will be concerned about noise and emissions, we have made very clear provisions in our proposals around how we will mitigate risk and we encourage individuals to review the reports from leading experts on the portal.

“We also continue to work with the wider aviation industry on our own sustainable targets, which are regulated at an international level and are not part of Leeds City Council’s climate emergency commitments.”

The airport also claimed it had reduced its emissions by 45 percent in the last five years, and expected to see an increase in aircraft arrivals and departures from 30,000 to 46,000 per annum as part of the proposal.

A message from the Editor: Leeds has a fantastic story to tell - and the Yorkshire Evening Post has been rooted firmly at the heart of telling the stories of our city since 1890. We believe in ourselves and hope you believe in us too. We need your support to help ensure we can continue to be at the heart of life in Leeds. Subscribe to our website and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Click here to subscribe. For more details on our newspaper subscription offers click here.

Thank you

Laura Collins