Objecting:
North Somerset Council planning control need to know your concerns about Bristol Airport’s expansion plans via the NSC planning consultation.
For your comments to be fully considered you need to cite valid ‘material considerations’ in your response. Material considerations are some of the criteria which the local authority has to use when determining a planning application, so if you refer to them the local authority will need to consider your comments more fully.
To help with this we have prepared a letter of objection (below) citing what we think are the main relevant material considerations.
The personal impact that more airport expansion would have on your life is really important for the planning officers to know. So it would be great if you can start by stating how the airport impacts YOU & YOUR life or the wider impact on how the airport affects your community.
You may also wish to make wider arguments against expansion (e.g. the impact on the climate crisis) but please also include some of the material consideration points below.
Use the link below to get to the comment page of the application. Fill in your details then choose the OBJECT option. Then either cut, paste and edit to select out the points you think most important or just copy the entire letter below. There are notes (in italics) at the bottom of this letter if you want to elaborate some points further).
Link to Planning Application (ref 26/P/0686/OU2)
Please note – if you have problems cutting and pasting because of our eco black background then please link to the document here on the BAAN google drive which you may find easier to copy and paste:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/15oC7-BJpV0ZfpobU51PGfZBO3i7yl3AdChG4H4ERspE/edit?usp=sharing
Letter / Comments against expansion:
I wish to object to Bristol Airport’s planning application to expand to 15mppa on the following grounds:
Traffic and Noise – Millions of extra passengers, mainly arriving by car, will increase congestion on already congested routes to the Airport. Bristol Airport expansion would negatively impact local neighbourhoods due to additional noise disturbance and more traffic congestion. Local roads are already often beyond their capacity. The noise and traffic issues are applicable both day and night with disturbance from a proposed additional 974 night flights being especially damaging to the health of local residents. Night flight numbers should be reduced, not increased.
Inadequate public transport provision – North Somerset Council’s local Core Strategy requires better provision of public transport to reduce adverse environmental impacts and contribute towards carbon reduction. Bristol Airport expansion to 15mppa would increase traffic to the airport by up to 50% and so hugely increase both carbon emissions and adverse environmental impacts.
Parking and Highway Safety – Bristol Airport expansion will negatively impact Highway safety and parking problems. Three million more passengers, mainly arriving by car, will inevitably cause more accidents on local roads and exacerbate rogue parking in local villages to avoid Airport car parking fees.
Effect on Nearby Conservation Areas – further expansion of Bristol Airport is out of character with the location of the airport and will have a devastating effect on nature, conservation, and biodiversity. The Airport’s recently revealed plans to take prime areas of Felton Common (a site of nature conservation) is a reason in itself to reject the Airports planning application.
Air and Water Pollution – airport expansion will create an increase in both air and water pollution from more planes and more cars. The cumulative effect of an increase in air and water pollution will harm both the health of people and the health of the local biodiversity. It will also destroy wildlife habitats.
Light Pollution – light pollution will increase dramatically if approach landing lights are sited on Felton Common and lighting for new car parks on green belt land are allowed.
Impact on Green Belt – further expansion of Bristol Airport onto yet more green belt land will have an adverse effect on nature, conservation, recreational spaces and biodiversity. Car parking is an inappropriate development of the Green Belt and is therefore contrary to both national and local planning policy which protects the Green Belt.
Public Safety – extending the runway towards Felton Common will mean planes approaching 12.5m lower. The NSC public safety zone calculator shows this would result in a 10-fold increase in the risk of a catastrophic incident on the Felton approach to the Airport.
Against National Policy – further expansion of Bristol Airport will not make a sustainable contribution to the local economy due to the scale of outbound leisure travel and it is uncertain whether further expansion will deliver additional, sustainable jobs.
Against Local Policy – the North Somerset Local Plan requires all development proposals to demonstrate how they will contribute to carbon neutrality in North Somerset by 2030. Increasing passenger numbers by almost 50% from current levels is irreconcilable with meeting the NSC 2030 carbon neutral target.
For all the above reasons, please reject Bristol Airport’s expansion plans.
Further notes:
Traffic and Noise
Council policy expressly requires plans for Bristol Airport to demonstrate the satisfactory resolution of environmental issues, including the impact on surrounding communities and roads.
Any increase in aircraft movements also increases aircraft taxiing on the ground. The cumulative impacts of ground noise and air noise should be considered together as then the increase would be over 3 dB and have major implications for mitigation of noise.
Inadequate public transport provision
The lack of meaningful levels of public transport to Bristol Airport means that a mass transit scheme to the airport.needs to be operational and proven to decrease traffic congestion before any increase in passenger numbers can be even considered.
Parking and Highway Safety
The airport’s parking charges result in thoughtless and dangerous parking close to the airport, and parking problems much further from the airport.
Effect on Nearby Conservation Areas
Bristol Airport is surrounded by rural communities, common land, nature reserves and areas of outstanding natural beauty. The infrastructure around the airport is of a rural nature, designed to service those communities and not an airport ever seeking to increase in size.
Air and Water Pollution
Bristol Airport is located in an area feeding water into the River Chew and the Chew Valley Lake, Bristol’s primary drinking water reservoir. This makes water pollution from airport expansion of significant concern. Airport runoff, from toxic chemicals like de-icers is a significant pollutant threat to water supply. More aircraft movements, ground vehicles and fuel storage increase the risk of hydrocarbon contamination entering surface drainage. A significant increase in car journeys increases the tyre particles, brake dust, oil, and heavy metals entering the Chew Valley river network. According to the Bristol Avon Rivers Trust the River Chew is already under significant pressure from pollution and so more vulnerable to additional pollution.
Light Pollution
Any increased lighting will disrupt natural circadian rhythms in humans and wildlife, as well as disrupting migratory birds and night time mammals such as bats. Furthermore, the light pollution will create a permanent “twilight” that obliterates the night sky in an AONB.
Impact on Green Belt
The airport expansion plans require it to swallow up acres of green belt land and common land – cherished and pristine natural habitats that are home to protected species like orchids, nesting skylarks and waxcap fungi.
Nature Conservation
Felton Common is a designated local nature reserve and site of nature conservation, featuring species-rich grassland, rare waxcap fungi, and habitats for bats and declining bird species. It is managed for biodiversity under a DEFRA stewardship agreement. This vital green space is recognised as a rare and irreplaceable habitat. It would be morally and ecologically reprehensible to allow expansion onto this rare grassland habitat.
Public Safety
Bristol Airport’s plans to extend the runway and re-site the approach landing lights should be rejected until the safety concerns of people living in the vicinity of the airport are independently investigated. Extending the runway towards Felton would mean planes approaching 12.5m lower. The NSC public safety zone calculator shows this would result in an increase in the risk of a catastrophic incident on the Felton approach to the Airport. North Somerset Council needs to assess the full health impacts of expansion on residents’ well being – particularly any long-term health implications for children.
Against National Policy
National policy says a balance has to be struck between the positive economic impact of flights and the negative impacts on health, quality of life and productivity. A 2021 report by the New Economics Forum (NEF) found that Bristol Airport’s 12mppa expansion plans had ignored up to £1.9 billion worth of damage to the climate over the period 2025–2050.
Against Local Policy
Bristol Airport’s expansion to 15mppa will generate significantly more carbon emissions from aircraft, ground transport and construction. The airport cannot credibly demonstrate consistency with a 2030 carbon neutrality target while simultaneously increasing passenger numbers by almost 50% from current levels.. Bristol Airport has not delivered on all of its 12mppa obligations which require a proven public transport modal share target of 17.5% and the building of a third multi-storey car park (MSCP3).
Bristol Airport should be refused all expansion aspirations until the following conditions are all fulfilled:
- EXPANSION should not be considered UNTIL the government has produced the revised ANPS (Airport National Policy Statement – draft due July 2026) which will re-determine how UK airport expansion should proceed regarding the government’s legally binding net zero targets. The government’s own EAC (Environmental Audit Committee) declared the current ANPS ‘not fit for purpose’.
- EXPANSION should not be considered UNTIL mass transit systems are in place and proven to improve current traffic issues by encouraging a far higher public transport modal share.
- EXPANSION should not be considered UNTIL Bristol Airport has proven how expansion will contribute to the Local Plan target of carbon neutrality by 2030
- EXPANSION should not be considered UNTIL an independent assessment of all the safety issues of extending the runway so close to the A38 has been made
- EXPANSION should not be considered UNTIL Bristol Airport has fulfilled all of its 12mppa planning permission obligations(e.g. building MSCP3 and achieving 17.5% Public Transport modal share)
- EXPANSION should not be considered UNTIL Low-carbon aviation (hydrogen power or electric flight) is a reality for commercial flights, not just an aspiration.