Extinction Rebellion protesters call on Leeds Council to reject Leeds Bradford Airport expansion plans

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.

Chris Foren, chair of the Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport (GALBA), said the council's decision would be one of the biggest in terms of climate change of a generation.

Speaking at the protest, he told the Yorkshire Evening Post: "Our take on the planning application is if they grant this, they can't refuse anything in the future.

"It is one of the biggest decisions [the council] will make on climate change proposals.

"We have nothing against the design of the new terminal or anything like that.

"It is the increase in flights and passenger numbers that is the issue.

"The passenger numbers are planned to increase to seven million from four million.

"The plans will nearly double the capacity at the airport."

John Simons was also at the protest and said he was 'firmly opposed' to the planned expansion of the airport.

He said: "The expansion is set to increase the emissions drastically.

"There is no basis to believe the numbers of passengers expected to use the new terminal.

"The proposals would use up all the carbon budget for the city.

Judith Smith, 67, who held a sign in opposition to the plans, is a Leeds resident of more than 35 years.

She said if the council approve the plans, this would be 'totally against' carbon targets after a 'climate emergency' was previously declared.

She added: "It is is one of the biggest decisions the council is likely to make.

"It is foolish to spend money on what would be an expensive white elephant."

Climate activist Nick Hodgkinson is a member of GALBA.

He said the airport's plan to double passenger numbers at a point of climate emergency was 'irresponsible'.

He said: "It is a crisis like we have never experienced before.

"This is a big test [for the council].

"If [the council] don't say no to the proposed expansions, there is no chance of reducing emissions to the levels expected by the government by 2030."

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.

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Laura Collins