Bristol Airport's £75m expansion plans unveiled
The first glimpse of what Bristol Airport will look like once a £70-million expansion plan has been completed were made public yesterday.
If the ambitious scheme is given the go-ahead it will more than double the size of the airport and will see passenger numbers increase to 10 million within the next eight years.
Councillors were given a preview of the plans at a meeting yesterday but it also emerged that a planning application was not likely to be lodged with North Somerset Council until March at the earliest.
Bosses at the airport had planned to start what is sure to be a lengthy planning process this autumn but say they have delayed the application so further public consultations can take place.
If the scheme goes ahead the terminal building will almost double in size with the addition of two glass fronted wings.
A three-star hotel is also being planned along with a five-storey car park.
As a result of the terrorist attacks on Glasgow Airport, the Government has insisted on a vehicle exclusion zone at all British airports and the forecourt at Lulsgate is set to be replaced with a grass, pedestrian area.
Instead, a new passenger drop-off area and bus terminus will be built on the top floor of the car park, which will be linked directly to the terminal building by a glass-walled corridor.
The new car park will have enough space for 3,600 cars and will include both short-term and long-term sections as well as space for hire cars.
There are also plans to increase parking on land around the Bristol site to cope with the expected increase in passenger numbers - six million passed through the airport over the past year.
The aim is also to increase the number of people using public transport to the airport by improving links and the number of bus services.
The number of stands for aircraft would also be increased by nine, to 33.
Both current chief executive Paul Kehoe and his replacement-to-be Robert Sinclair were at yesterday's consultative committee meeting and both fielded questions from local councillors.
Alan Davies, director of environment and planning at Bristol Airport, has put together the plans and is working on the outline planning application which will be lodged with North Somerset Council in March if all goes to plan.
He said: "We are committed to developing and enhancing the airport's role as a regional gateway for international travel.
"Demand for air travel to and from the South West is forecast to grow, and by increasing the choice of services we offer and enhancing the facilities we provide to passengers we can reduce reliance on airports outside the region."
The consultation - to take place in January - will include public displays and presentations along with information in libraries and on Bristol Airport's website.
Hilary Burn, a member of the Stop Bristol Expansion Group, said: "The trouble with the airport is that it keeps moving the goalposts when it comes to the scale of the expansion.
"People in North Somerset are not happy with the airport and they are really concerned with the expansion plans.
"A lot of people are saying that enough is enough."
Mr Kehoe, current chief executive at Bristol Airport, said: "Our customer base is across the South West but the people of North Somerset have been voting with their feet. We know that a large proportion of people in the area are flying from here rather than going to London."
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by Andrew Griffin, Bowerhill, Melksham. Wilts
Thursday, October 23 2008, 10:21PM
“The images that have been released do look fantastic and would urge everyone to support this planned expansion. The region needs a first class airport to encourage international business to relocate to Bristol and the surrounding areas, especially with Heathrow virtually FULL and little scope for that to improve.
The SBAE group really need to take a long hard look at who they actually represent as I have often spoken to locals out walking their dogs on Felton Common about the airport and to date I haven't had one person express opposition to the airports plans. The only thing that does crop up is they would like to see improvements to public transport access to the airport, a new link road from the M5, Southern Bristol Ring road, a rail link etc which I would totally agree with.
For SBAE to gain any respect they need to announce that have never used Bristol airport. If SBAE can't stand up and truthfully state they haven't/don't use the airport they have lost all credibility.
If you take a look at the latest CAA figures, actual aircraft movements so far this year are only 0.6% higher than last year, yet passenger number are up in the region of 9%. So increasing passengers doesn't always mean a large increase in flights. I use Bristol airport as much as I can, but have to trek upto Gatwick and Heathrow because I can't fly to the destination I want to from Bristol and I am sure that there are many more who do the same. Lets have an airport that the west can be proud of, it is already trying to be a greener airport but is being stopped by ill informed opposition and North Somerset County Council who ruled against the Walkway plan even though their own advisors stated otherwise. I have got this horrible feeling that the people of North Somerset are going to end up footing the bill for a legal case against their council's initial decision.
Finally well done Bristol Airport for proposing a great looking airport for the future. Here's one giving you their full support.”
by Gee, Bristol
Thursday, October 23 2008, 7:21PM
“A 8 year recession... are you serious!!! You need to understand the economy a little more if you think a 8 year recession is even possible!!! Its not... not in a million years!!! The world (this is going to be a world recession) would not be able to have a 8 year recession... Have you ever seen "Escape From LA"? LOL... thats what the world would become..! Ha Ha Ha”
by Gee, Bristol
Thursday, October 23 2008, 7:14PM
“Fan-dabi-dosi..!
Great News... Hopefully they will build a rail link and get moving with south section of the Ring Road!!! Dont let the nimbys ruin our Airport!!!”
by MendipMan, Wurzel Country
Thursday, October 23 2008, 7:07PM
“The anti-expansionists, who mostly have their own agendas and use airport expansion to further them, represent a minority of people both in the immediate area and the wider region. Newspaper and local television polls have consistently shown around 70% in favour of airport expansion. Bristol is the ninth busiest airport in the UK, the reason being it has a large and affluent business and leisure catchment, far bigger than Cardiff and Exeter who between them carry less than half the number of passengers that use Bristol. Whether objectors like it or not Bristol is one of the country's major city regions, and the most economically successful outside London, and an airport is an essential ingredient. We've seen nonsense about Ryanair reducing routes in the Post. They haven't. They have pulled some summer routes for the winter but added new routes to Marrakech, Gdansk, Grenoble and Szczecin for the winter. An illustration of how vibrant Bristol Airport is can be seen in its passenger figures. The rolling 12-month total to the end of September 2008 is over 6.3 million passengers, up nearly 9 per cent on the figure a year ago. Furthermore, in September this year it increased its passenger numbers by nearly 3 per cent over September 2007 and was one of only four of the top twenty UK airports to see an increase. Cardiff was down 10 per cent and Exeter over five per cent. This shows how viable Bristol is even in a recession and its facilities urgently need upgrading.”
by Tom, Bristol
Thursday, October 23 2008, 11:38AM
“Great news! With all the doom and gloom and economic outlook at the moment, its very encouarging to see our airport is continuing to expand, provide jobs and exciting destinations for the people of this region. We need a successful airport so we can continue to be one of the UK's most important cities.”
by Dominic, Bristol
Thursday, October 23 2008, 10:09AM
“Great news for the local economy / region and should certainly cut down on journeys to Heathrow, Gatwick etc. - but surely some sort of fast link with Bristol centre should be be part of the plans?”
by Nigel, Bristol
Thursday, October 23 2008, 9:38AM
“Great news but I expect the 'locals' around the airport will object.
Any expansion is good, otherwise we are all forced to travel up to London or worse places like Exeter and Cardiff will expand instead.
Just one point for developers I hope they include piers in the buidling plan ... just hate walking from the aircraft in the pouring rain !!!!!”
by Terry Manski, Portishead
Thursday, October 23 2008, 9:31AM
“Excellent news about the expansion - we can only attract big buisnesses to the region if we give them the transport platforms to run their businesses with. We need better roads to the airport - how about an express route from M5 Junction 20?
How about parking spots around Bristol as park and ride for the airport too?
How about reopening the Portishead to Bristol rail link and cut city congestion even further - this will be featured on the BBC shortly - a BBC travel editor follows the route of rail links cut in the 60's - it took him 2 HOURS to get from Portishead to Bristol Temple Meads!!! See what he has to say about this... check your TV guide - it's on any day now.
If anyone is still against airport expansion - think about what effect this recession will have on the regions jobs - to invest so much in the region we should all be grateful and welcome the expansion with open arms.”
by James H, Bedminster
Thursday, October 23 2008, 8:27AM
“Mike - I don't think even the most pessimistic expect the recession to last 8 years!
Also, Bristol Airport specialises in the more affordable, budget flights offered by Easyjet & Ryanair. In financial-restricted times it is surely more likely that people will opt for these type of flights, in preference to the more expensive long-haul options from Heathrow.”
by Mike B, Bristol
Thursday, October 23 2008, 7:57AM
“Quote from article ... "will see passenger numbers increase to 10 million within the next eight years". . . . Hmmm, we have a recession on, people are having more-stay-in-the-UK holidays, more people are aware of the poor "Green" credentials of Aircraft, so my feeling is passenger numbers will decrease. Who is wearing the rose-tinted specs I wonder? Maybe they need a reality check :-(”