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HELP STOP A MASSIVE INCREASE IN NIGHT FLIGHTS AT LEEDS BRADFORD AIRPORT
GALBA urgently needs to raise £25,000 to challenge Leeds Bradford Airport’s attempt to remove the rules that limit night flights. If LBA win it would mean they could fly unlimited night flights in the future.
Any donation, big or small, will help us fight this case. PLEASE DONATE TODAY, if you can.
Imagine being woken at 2am by a plane roaring overhead. You lie there waiting for the noise to fade, knowing another will follow just minutes later. And again. And again. And again…
This isn’t an occasional disruption. For local people living under the flight path, it’s a pattern that grinds you down. It robs you of your sleep, your health and your quality of life.
The existing rules do limit the number of night flights. Those rules were put in place to safeguard local people. But now Leeds Bradford Airport wants to remove even the minimal protection that exists and scrap the restrictions on night flights.
If you want to help protect local people from more sleepless nights under the flight path, PLEASE DONATE TODAY if you can.
WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING...
For five years, GALBA has been fighting to protect local communities from the expansion of Leeds Bradford Airport — defending people’s health, the air we breathe and our climate. And we’ve been winning...
But this time LBA is attempting an extraordinary legal manoeuvre.
They’re not submitting a normal planning application to allow more night flights. Instead they’re applying for something called a CLEUD — a Certificate of Lawful Existing Use or Development.
This matters because:
• Elected councillors don’t get a vote. The decision falls to a single council planning officer.
• The local community doesn’t get a say. Only legal and factual evidence is considered. Public opinion is irrelevant.
GALBA is challenging this application in law. If you want to help stop the airport using this loophole, PLEASE DONATE TODAY.
SO WHAT IS LBA'S STRATEGY?
They claim that their most commonly used planes have been flying in breach of the night flight rules for years — without enforcement action from the Council.
And because of that, they say the rules no longer apply to those aircraft.
In other words, they want to fly planes in unlimited numbers at night, permanently, and they are trying to use a legal loophole to make it happen.
It’s a bit like a burglar arguing:
“I’ve been robbing these houses for years and the police never caught me — so now I should be free to rob them whenever I want, forever.”
Except in this case they were caught — by a community group.
If you believe companies shouldn’t be rewarded for breaking the rules, PLEASE DONATE TODAY if you can and help us fight this case.
WE'RE FIGHTING BACK
GALBA is challenging the airport’s application.
We have some of the best planning lawyers in the country on our side. They believe strongly in this case and are working with us at significantly reduced fees.
But we still urgently need to raise £25,000 to fund the legal challenge.
Every donation — large or small — will help us challenge the airport’s application and defend our communities from a massive increase in night flights.
PLEASE DONATE TODAY if you can.
And please share this appeal with friends, family and neighbours.
We’ve beaten Leeds Bradford Airport before. Together, we can do it again.
WHAT EXACTLY IS LBA CLAIMING?
There are planning rules that limit the number of flights allowed at Leeds Bradford Airport between 11pm and 7am — the “night flight rules”.
LBA says that its most commonly used planes have been flying unlawfully at night for 10 years, without enforcement action by the Council.
Because of that, the airport claims the rules no longer apply to those planes at all.
If LBA succeeds, their most commonly used aircraft could fly as many times at night as the airport wants — with no limits — and the Council could not stop it.
It sounds crazy.
But that’s how the law on CLEUDs works.
And that’s why we urgently need your help.
If you care about protecting our communities from a huge increase in night flights, PLEASE DONATE TODAY if you can — and share this appeal with friends, family and neighbours. Together we can stand up to Leeds Bradford Airport!
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
If we are lucky enough to raise more money than we need at this current time, we will ensure that any extra funds are spent on fighting the expansion of airports or increasing flights in the UK.
When you make a donation, JustGiving will ask you if you want to make a small tip to help with their work. This is an automatic feature of JustGiving and is something that GALBA has no control over. It is possible to over-ride this by clicking on 'Enter Custom Amount' - in blue text near the bottom of the page and then changing the amount to zero.
If you would like to join us and be part of our people-powered campaign please click HERE.
