Climate campaigners have claimed "victory" in their fight against a new terminal at Leeds Bradford Airport after the £150 million plans were abruptly scrapped.
Airport bosses blamed "excessive delays" by the government as they announced the much-anticipated new Yeadon terminal will no longer be built.
The decision comes following months of delay by the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, who has spent almost a year scrutinising the blueprints despite planning approval from Leeds City Council.
Click here for the latest headlines about the environment
The Group for Action on Leeds Bradford Airport (GALBA) have spent years campaigning against the new terminal, hosting a series of high-profile stunts across the city.
Reacting to the news, GALBA chair Chris Foren said: "This is a victory for our climate and our communities - we are delighted that LBA has acknowledged defeat.
"Make no mistake, this victory is down to the thousands of people who took action, donated funds and never gave up hope that we can make the right decisions today to build a better tomorrow."
Leeds City Council originally gave approval for the new airport terminal last year, with decision-makers impressed by the state-of-the-art designs. It was due to open in 2023, but that ambitious timescale was quickly shelved when the government 'called in' the decision and announced a public inquiry was a possibility.
In December 2021, LBA chief executive Vincent Hodder told LeedsLive he was "appalled" by the lack of communication from central government, which left the plans in limbo - even after £4 million had been spent by that stage.
Airport chiefs have always maintained that boosting passengers numbers to seven million a year were not linked to the new terminal, stating approval for this had already been given in an earlier application.
But climate campaigners have said this latest setback will deal a big blow to any future plans for growth.
"We will keep a close eye on what the airport’s Australian owners do next," added Chris, GALBA chair.
"We will act again if they try to break any rules. We remain ready to continue the fight to protect our climate and communities."
West Yorkshire mayor Tracy Brabin has also reacted to the news and said she is "disappointed" that the delays from government have forced airport bosses to pull the plug.
Enter your postcode to see local issues near you
She said: "It's quite disappointing because their plan was going to be a zero-carbon modern building and now they've withdrawn their planning application.
"They're obviously frustrated that they've been having to wait because of the slowness of government coming back to Leeds City Council. But we need an airport - we're a thriving region with 2.3 million people, we've got international students, international businesses and I'm interested to see how this will develop further on."
Leeds Bradford Airport has revealed it will now push ahead with plans to extend the existing terminal. This was the original scheme put forward by the airport, which was approved by the council in 2019, before bosses decided to try and build the new £150 million terminal instead.
To get the latest email updates from LeedsLive, click here.
