Decision to expand Bristol Airport to be challenged by campaign group
Bristol Airport Action Network is taking their battle to the High Court.
The coordinating committee of local campaign group, Bristol Airport Action Network (BAAN) has decided to appeal to the High Court against the recent Planning Inspectorate decision allowing Bristol Airport to expand.
Solicitors acting on their behalf will today be issuing papers to the High Court for a Statutory Appeal under the Town & Country Planning Act 1990. This challenge will highlight what they are advised are a number of errors in law in the decision to allow the expansion of Bristol Airport. These include incorrect interpretation of local planning strategies and aviation policies; ignoring the importance of local carbon budgets and not adequately considering the extra non-carbon emissions that would be caused by the expansion.
This High Court challenge is the latest stage in the ongoing battle to stop Bristol Airport from expanding from 10 to 12 million passengers per year which would have disastrous consequences for local people and the environment.
BAAN are a grouping of local campaigners who gathered together groups opposing Bristol Airport’s original planning application in December 2018 and have resisted the expansion plans every since.
Their original campaign involved marches, village hall meetings, petitions, vigils and lobbying activity which led to over 11,000 comments submitted by the public to the planning website; 84% of which were against the plans.
North Somerset Councillors listened to their electorate and voted to reject the Airport’s plans in February 2020. Their reasons for turning down the application included the increase in road traffic, loss of greenbelt land for parking, increased noise and air pollution from more flights, as well as the inevitable rise in carbon emissions.
However, Bristol Airport Ltd refused to listen to the opinions of local people and they appealed against the decision. Unfortunately for local people and the climate, the inspectors allowed the airport’s appeal after a 10-week planning inquiry thereby giving the plans a green light. This is the decision BAAN are now trying to get quashed in the High Court.
Stephen Clarke, one of the coordinators of BAAN says:
“This decision is so damaging for the local people and the climate that it simply cannot be allowed to stand unchallenged. By supporting BAL’s arguments, the inspectors have effectively agreed that the UK Government has policies which actually support airport expansion, despite the climate and ecological crisis and the UK’s legal obligation to reach net zero by 2050.
The inspectors report dismissed the enormous increase of carbon emissions as an issue, stating that the ‘climate was neutral in the planning balance’. In this one sentence, they effectively ignored expert climate change science & the overwhelming extra carbon emissions caused by the expansion.
They also decided to completely ignore the parts of the North Somerset core local strategy that deals with climate change issues as well as the dozens of local residents who spoke passionately on the issue at the inquiry.”
Bristol Airport's Response:
“We have been made aware of BAAN CC's intention to challenge the recent Independent Planning Inspectors' decision but as we have received no indication of the grounds of any challenge, we are unable to comment further.”