Bristol Airport begins expansion work
The idea first proposed in 2018 led to a legal battle
After years of legal and political arguments, work has finally begun to expand Bristol Airport.
Bosses at the Airport first revealed plans to grow annual passenger numbers, from 10 million to 12 million back in 2018, saying they would expand the terminal and build a new multi-storey car park to facilitate it.
Today (26 September) it's revealed activity has started on the car park and a public transport interchange.
Dave Lees, chief executive of Bristol Airport said: “This project is transformational for our customers.
"It is the largest single capital investment project since the terminal opened in 2000 and will take 18 months to complete.
"As with all large-scale projects, they are complex and the development work will need to be phased to accommodate the normal day to day Airport operations.
"During the project, customers will see several temporary changes taking place, including temporary relocation of some car parks and changes to internal roads layouts.
"We will continue to keep customers informed of the changes via directional signage, customer messaging on car park bookings, the website and on social media.”
At a cost of £60 million the work will see the following created:
- New public transportation interchange hub
- Additional multi-storey car park
- Glazed bridge link between car parks and terminal
- New waiting area and rest facilities
- Enlarged drop off and pick up area
The new multi-storey car park will provide over 2000 spaces and will adjoin the existing multi-storey.
The terminal will be accessed via a glazed pedestrian bridge, removing the current pedestrian route of using steps and slopes between the car parks and the terminal.
In a statement a spokesperson for the Airport says it will create thousands of new jobs, open-up new direct air links, and support inbound tourism.
The expansion saga
Getting to this point has been far from straight forward for the Airport.
Climate groups such as Extinction Rebellion began holding protests against expansion soon after the idea was first announced and were present at the initial planning meeting, at North Somerset Council's base in Weston Super Mare.
At that meeting in February 2020 shortly before coronavirus brought the world to a halt, we were present as councillors voted 18-7 against the idea, citing concerns around climate change.
However, that ruling was then overturned on appeal following a 36-day planning inquiry and a legal challenge brought by environmental campaigners in 2022, was quashed earlier this year.
Not only do anti-expansion campaigners say the idea is incompatible with a climate emergency, they also argue allowing it is undemocratic.
As well as North Somerset Council, Bristol City Council, Bath and North East Somerset Council and the West of England Combined Authority have all publicly expressed opposition, with Green Party co-leader and Bristol councillor Carla Denyer calling it "devastating".
You can find out more about the plans on the Bristol Airport website here.
We have contacted Metro Mayor Dan Norris for comment and will be hearing more from both the Airport and anti-expansion campaigners in the near future.