By John Wimperis, Local Democracy Reporter: Bath and North East Somerset Council has vowed to battle Bristol Airport’s latest plans to expand. The regional airport, located just across the council boundary with neighbouring North Somerset, wants to expand to serve 15 million passengers per year. The latest bid to expand their operations came just a year and a half after Bristol Airport won a High Court case to expand to 12 million passengers per year — a move opposed at the time by local councils.
Now Bath and North East Somerset Council has resolved near-unanimously that it will oppose the plans for the airport to expand to 15 million passengers too. Deputy council leader Sarah Warren (Bathavon North, Liberal Democrat) said the economic argument for airport expansion was “grossly overstated” — and said it could actually have “economic disbenefits.”
She told councillors: “In our region, Bristol Airport mainly provides for outbound leisure travel translating into economic disbenefits for our domestic tourism industries. […] Bristol Airport now plans to expand its operations by around 50% at the expense of local residents who will suffer from increased traffic at all times of day and night, aircraft noise, and pollution.”
She said: “Bristol Airport is big enough.”
Bringing the motion before a full meeting of the council on March 20, Chew Valley councillor David Harding (Liberal Democrat) said that people in the area faced speeding through villages and people parking outside their homes at all hours. He described the airport as “a massive car park with an airport attached.”
He added that the airport also wanted to increase its number of permitted night flights from 4,000 to 5,000. He said: “Bristol Airport already has more night time flight breaches than Heathrow.”
The airport’s expansion plans would see 14,000 more flights a year and the runway lengthened so that larger transcontinental planes could fly from the airport. Shaun Hughes (Midsomer Norton North, Independent) said there were valid concerns but it was “a matter of balance.” He called for an assessment of the facts to be brought before the council before it took a stance.
He said: “Our region relies heavily on tourism, with Bristol airport playing a key role in promoting Bath as a destination. […] We must also consider the environmental impacts. Is it more sustainable for travellers to land in London and drive across southern England or to fly directly into the West Country.”
But Tim Warren (Midsomer Norton Redfield, Conservative) said that he would be in favour of the council opposing the airport’s expansion, even though he had not been previously. He said: “Although I use Bristol Airport, I do think enough is enough now and its big enough.”
The vote passed with 44 councillors voting in favour of opposing the airport’s expansion, with no votes against although two councillors abstained: Mr Hughes and Chris Warren (Saltford, Independent).
Steve Clarke from Bristol Airport Action Network, the campaign group opposed to expanding the airport, had addressed the meeting as a public speaker urging them to oppose the airport’s expansion. He said he was “delighted” with the result.
He said: “B&NES have proved to be the leaders again in the fight against Bristol Airport. We really value their support and the fact that it was cross party.”
But Bristol Airport has insisted that expansion would be a positive for the area. In a statement, a spokesperson for Bristol Airport said: “The airport is critical to our region’s economy and Bath’s tourism sector, welcoming hundreds of thousands of inbound visitors each year. We are our area’s largest private sector employer, providing over 5,000 jobs, with 70% of employees living within 20 miles.
“We recently completed the consultation on our draft master plan to 2040 and are busy analysing the helpful feedback we’ve received. A planning application to increase our capacity to 15 million passengers a year will be made in the coming months. We expect our proposals to deliver 1,000 additional on-site jobs and support many more in our region, boost economic growth, and allow us to connect to new destinations, including the Middle East and North America.
“We hope to be able to work with Bath and North East Somerset Council so that we maximise the economic benefits for our area.”
It will be up to neighbouring North Somerset Council — not Bath and North East Somerset Council — to decide whether to grant planning permission for the airport expansion. But Bath and North East Somerset Council will respond to the planning application to oppose the development, and the motion passed by councillors requests that the council leader write to government ministers and local MPs to inform them of the council’s view.
The motion also requests that all candidates for the West of England Combined Authority elections oppose the airport expansion. Oli Henman, the Liberal Democrat candidate for West of England Metro Mayor who is also a councillor for Walcot on Bath and North East Somerset Council, said: “I agree with the call from Bath & North East Somerset Council to oppose further expansion of Bristol Airport. The airport has not even completed its current expansion plans so any further expansion is premature.”
He added that the airport was still not served by adequate public transport, and that rapid mass transit would be essential. He said: “We face a climate emergency for people and planet. Last year saw the hottest temperatures ever recorded in the UK, and our area faces serious threats from flooding and storms. In this context, any expansion in air travel would lead to ballooning emissions and take us further into a dangerously heating world.”
Also standing in the West of England Metro Mayor election is:
- Helen Godwin (Labour)
- Mary Page (Green)
- Ian Scott (Independent)
- Steve Smith (Conservative)
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