Luton and District Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise

High risk on Airport Way

Using the method for the calculation of risk used by the Department for Transport and based on air and road traffic data for 2005, LADACAN has calculated that the risk of a single fatality of a user of this road is 5 in 1,000 each year. This is a very high level of risk - the Health and Safety Executive places a limit on individual risk in the workplace of 1 in 1,000 - and we believe it to be an under-estimate as we have used conservative assumptions to estimate it. We have, for example, used average figures for daily air and road traffic whereas the daily peaks of both tend to coincide, so increasing the occupancy of the roadway when the risk of accident is greatest.

Despite this high level of risk and the Government's guidance that transport facilities should be treated as if they are residential development, Luton Borough Council granted itself planning permission to carry out the upgrade of Airport way as part of the East Luton Corridor improvement which was completed in 2009. This raised the number of people at risk by increasing capacity, applying speed limits and placing traffic lights in the danger area.

In reaching its decision, the Development Control Committee argued that it was unreasonable to allow an identified individual to live in a high risk location irrespective of his or her wishes but acceptable to expose others to the same risk without warning them because they would each only be at risk for a short period. The result in terms of number of fatalities would, of course, be the same.