High Court hearing granted on the Bristol Airport expansion ruling
Bristol Airport Action Network (BAAN) campaigners have been given permission to go to the High Court to appeal against the expansion of Bristol Airport. The date is still to be set. A judge has decided that BAAN raised arguable grounds following the Planning Inspectorate’s (PI) decision to permit expansion of annual capacity, from 10 to 12 million passengers. The airport will continue to fight for their expansion. Government planning inspectors granted permission for the expansion plans, on appeal in February, after the plans were rejected by North Somerset Council in 2020 on environmental grounds. These include far higher carbon emissions, more noise, more air pollution and more road traffic. BAAN has raised more than £20,000, through crowd funding, to pay for legal costs to support its appeal. Stephen Clarke, from BAAN, said: “The idea that airports can just continue to expand without limit, in the middle of a climate and ecological crisis, is so obviously wrong. We are delighted that the judge agrees we have arguable grounds that the inspector’s decision has errors in law and we look forward to the full hearing.” If the court rules in favour of BAAN, then the PI will have to reconsider its decision.
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Bristol Airport: High Court hearing granted for expansion ruling
10.5.2022
BBC
Bristol Airport Action Network Campaigners are going to the High Court to appeal against the expansion of Bristol Airport. A High Court hearing will be held this year for campaigners to challenge the decision to expand Bristol Airport.
Bristol Airport Action Network (BAAN) raised arguable grounds following the planning inspectorate’s decision to permit expansion, a judge has ruled.
The expansion would allow the airport to increase its annual capacity from 10 million to 12 million passengers.
Airport bosses said they were aware of the case and would continue to defend the planning inspectorate’s decision.
Government planning inspectors granted permission on appeal in February after the plans were rejected by North Somerset Council in 2020 on environmental grounds.
Bristol Airport’s chief executive Dave Lees said the expansion would help to reduce the millions of road journeys made to London airports each year and said the airport would work with the community “to deliver sustainable growth”.
BAAN has raised more than £20,000, through crowd funding, to pay for legal costs to support its appeal.
It said airport expansion would be damaging for local people and the environment, citing a rise in road traffic, increased noise and air pollution and an “inevitable rise in carbon emissions”.
Stephen Clarke, from the group, said: “The idea that airports can just continue to expand without limit, in the middle of a climate and ecological crisis, is so obviously wrong.
“We are delighted that the judge agrees we have arguable grounds that the inspector’s decision has errors in law and we look forward to the full hearing.”
If judges at the planning statutory review – to be held on a date yet to be determined – rule in favour of BAAN’s arguments, they could quash planning permission for the airport expansion.
The planning inspectorate would then need to reconsider its decision.
The planning inspectorate said at the time it recognised the “major disappointment” campaigners would have, but the benefits would outweigh the harm to green belt land.
A number of local officials and MPs, including Liam Fox and Wera Hobhouse, criticised the decision to overrule the council following a three-month enquiry.
However, North Somerset Council said that it would not pursue a legal challenge to the ruling.
Council leader Don Davies said they had “reluctantly” accepted legal advice that a challenge would carry a high level of risk and result in “significant further costs”.
“A legal challenge through the High Court can only be successful if the inspectors can be shown to have erred in law.
“Unfortunately our disagreement with the inspectors’ conclusions on the planning merits is not a relevant ground for challenge,” Mr Davies said.
He said that were the original decision to be quashed, it was highly likely follow-up planning permission would subsequently be granted.
“We cannot justify risking more public money on a process that is unlikely to change anything,” Mr Davies added.
A Bristol Airport spokesperson said: “We await the outcome of the forthcoming hearing in which we continue to defend the grant of the permission by the planning inspectorate.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-61394184
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See earlier:
Bristol Airport expansion decision to be taken to High Court by local campaigners, BAAN
On 2nd February the Planning Inspectorate allowed the appeal by Bristol airport against refusal by North Somerset Council, for the airport’s expansion plans – that would allow it to increase its capacity from 10 million to 12 million passengers per year. Now the campaign group, Bristol Airport Action Network (BAAN), is taking the battle to the High Court. They have raised more than £20,000 to appeal the Planning Inspectorate’s decision. BAAN believes the expansion will be damaging for local people and the environment, citing a rise in road traffic, increased noise and air pollution and an “inevitable rise in carbon emissions”. The Planning Inspectorate said at the time it recognised the “major disappointment” campaigners would have, but the considered economic benefits would outweigh the harm to green belt land. But North Somerset Council will not pursue a legal challenge to the ruling, fearing they would lose and there would be an unacceptable cost to ratepayers. A legal challenge through the High Court can only be successful if the inspectors can be shown to have erred in law, and currently the UK has “no policy which seeks to limit airport expansion” nationally, or on aviation carbon.
Click here to view full story…
Bristol Airport expansion allowed by Planning Inspectorate, on appeal – called “devastating” by opponents
The 36-day public inquiry into Bristol Airport’s proposal to expand from 10 to 12 mppa, and add thousands more car parking spaces, took place in September and October 2021. Now the Planning Inspectorate have announced their decision to allow the appeal by the airport against refusal by North Somerset Council. This has been condemned as devastating by opponents and extremely disappointing by local councillors. North Somerset Council leader Don Davies said the decision “flies in the face of local democracy”. His authority had given sound planning grounds for refusing permission in February 2020, and warned that the detrimental effect of the airport expansion of the airport locally – as well as the wider climate impacts – outweighed the narrower benefits, which would be almost entirely the commercial interests of the owners, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.. The plan to expand the airport was opposed by thousands of residents, as well as Bristol City Council, Bath and North East Somerset Council and the West of England Combined Authority. Don Davies said the council is seeing if there are any grounds for challenging the PI ruling.
Click here to view full story…
and more older Bristol airport news at
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A planning statutory review is a version of judicial review, for planning applications. See
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