proposed bristol airport expansion…

I turned up outside the Bristol Law Courts this morning to protest at the proposed expansion of Bristol Airport. Bristol Airport's initial proposal for an extended airport terminal, and an increase in capacity from around 9 million passengers a year to 12 million, was refused planning permission by North Somerset Council's planners back in January 2020… but was subsequently allowed on Appeal by a government inspector.
Local people are against it, Local Councils are against it, local MPs are against it and yet the original decision was overturned.
Today marks the first day of a two-day Appeal against the inspector’s decision. Unlike the Airport Authority (who can happily spend big money on expensive lawyers), this Appeal has been crowd-funded by locals.
I was very impressed by the people who turned up this morning to demonstrate – articulate, passionate, amusing and very determined – but, particularly by the group of singers (perhaps 50-strong) who sang as they approached the Law Courts. It made for quite an emotional entrance. This might sound a little over-the-top but, for me, it almost felt along the lines of Greenham Common or the US civil-rights movement of the 1960s (or perhaps Lennon’s “Give Peace a Chance”?). Well, it certainly worked for me!
The Climate Change Committee (CCC) is an independent, statutory body established under the Climate Change Act 2008 and it maintains that there must be “no net airport expansion” if we are to reach our legally-binding carbon budgets and our Net Zero targets.
In the current circumstances, the Inspector’s decision to overturn the original planning refusal seems to be nonsensical and unsustainable. I just hope and pray that the decision is overturned.
The ultimate irony, of course, is that the Appeal is being heard at the same time as the COP27 climate summit.