Council decision denying planning permission overturned on appeal

Why allowing the airport to expand is a bad idea....

This is not about being pro or anti air travel. It is about what size of airport is reasonable for us as a region, what our local infrastructure can cope with, and what is appropriate in the face of climate change. Pre COVID the airport was handling 8 million passengers a year and already had approval to expand to 10 million.

• This is more than adequate given our local roads and the appalling public transport links to the airport.
• It is also sufficient to serve local residents, nearby regional airports such as Cardiff and Exeter have existing capacity to serve their regions so it was maddening to see that this expansion would involve Bristol Airport seeking more travellers from further afield to use its facilities. 
• Finally, in the face of the environmental challenges we face it would seem sensible to limit where possible the expansion of the airline industry, a major contributor to climate change, until they have dramatically reduced the carbon impact of their activities.

It was because of these reasons that as your local Councillor I spoke against the expansion when the application was thrown out at a meeting of North Somerset's planning committee in March 2020. It is extremely disappointing to see that this decision has been overturned on appeal.

North Somerset Councils response

North Somerset Council Leader Cllr Don Davies has expressed his “extreme disappointment” at the inspectors’ decision. 

Cllr Davies said: "The refusal was based on sound planning grounds and the firm belief that the detrimental effect of the expansion of the airport on this area and the wider impact on the environment outweighed the narrower benefits of airport expansion which sit almost entirely in the commercial interests of the owners, a foreign pension fund"

“This simply flies in the face of local democracy and disregards the views of the local communities who fought equally hard to resist the expansion. It completely undermines our vision for a greener North Somerset, our determination to tackle the climate emergency and the target we have set for the area to be carbon neutral by 2030."

"The airport's important role in the region’s economy would have continued without expanding beyond its current 10 million passengers a year limit."

You can read the North Somerset Councils statement in full by clicking here.

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