Campaigners demand Bristol Airport inquiry
State, Eric Pickles, to hold a public inquiry into the expansion of Bristol Airport,
following referral by North Somerset Council.
plans, subject to conditions, including referral to the Secretary of State. North
Somerset is asking the Government to consider the impact of the expansion on climate
change – and to rule on airportʼs plans to build a car park on the green belt.
Secretary of State must now send this decision to a public inquiry – and we will
be calling for that. Expanding Bristol Airport has major implications for the
regionʼs economy and for the countryʼs climate emissions. These must all be taken
into account. There is currently no valid policy to support approval, leaving
the decision open to legal challenge.
the damaging impacts of the planned expansion by refusing permission. But the
fight is not over. This is about far more than cheap holidays for local people
– it is about national transport policy and how we tackle climate change – and
we are confident
that the Secretary of State will recognise that."
would lead to a 125% increase in CO2 emissions from flights at the airport. The
UK is committed under the Climate Change Act to cutting CO2 emissions by 80% by
2050. A recent High Court ruling on plans for a new runway at Heathrow Airport
found that
the former governmentʼs Air Transport White Paper failed to comply with the requirements
of the Climate Change Act. The new coalition government has subsequently ruled
out a new runway at Heathrow.
White Paper – which outlined the potential for development at regional airports
across the UK. According to the High Court ruling, the economic and capacity issues
must now be reconsidered bearing in mind the impacts on climate change.
Contact: Helen Burley, tel: 07703 731923
Bristol Airport expansion given go-ahead
Somerset councillors. The £150m scheme was recommended for approval by 10 votes
to two. Campaigners have argued that a 60% increase in passenger numbers up to
10 million per year was too high. More than 5,500 comments were submitted during
a consultation of which 5,180 objected to the plans. The approval will have to
be referred to the Sec of State at DCLG (Pickles) because some development is
on green belt land.