Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) has called for the secretary of state to investigate the planned expansion of Luton airport. 

According to the Advertiser, HCC has many concerns about the plans which would enable the airport to cater for six million more people each year.

Richard Thake, cabinet member for community safety and planning at HCC, said: "We remain concerned about protecting our communities from airport development, noise and emissions produced by aircraft as well as the knock-on effect of extra people travelling either by car or by public transport to the airport."

Mr Thake added he hopes the secretary of state will agree that these issues demand further investigation. 

Towards the beginning of December, Luton Borough Council (LBC) approved the plans to expand the airport, enabling it to serve 18 million passengers annually. 

The campaign group Hertfordshire Against Luton Expansion (HALE) backs Mr Thake's concerns and has criticised LBC for not giving the planning application the detailed scrutiny that it required. HALE is particularly concerned about noise levels, due to an proposed increase in late night and early morning flights.