Peter Madden: Planet Bristol
Do we want to see Bristol airport nearly double in size? North Somerset Council is deciding whether to give the go ahead to an expansion that would see passenger numbers rise from six million a year to 10m in a decade.
Some local firms say the airport is important to them – they want to be able to fly off to business meetings. But the overall impact on business is more mixed. At the moment, there are six times as many outbound leisure flights as there are inbound. So, far from bringing tourists and their spending money into the regional economy, the airport does the reverse. As we recover from the recession, do we want hundreds of millions of pounds more leaving the region?
Environmentally, this expansion would be very negative, pumping more CO2 into the atmosphere despite national targets to cut emissions. It would also dwarf and discourage all the efforts by individuals and companies in Bristol to cut CO2. Why should everyone do their little bit – getting on their bikes or switching to energy saving light bulbs – if there're going to be thousands of extra planes?
Then there's the increased traffic. The proposed expansion doesn't include any serious public transport plans. Regional airports such as Bristol make most of their money from car parking and have little interest in really sorting this out. I'd like to see more airport buses, particularly for South Bristol that suffer from the planes flying over and could really benefit from the jobs.
I would welcome plans to improve facilities at the airport, but don't think this expansion is a good idea for the economy, the environment or the people of Bristol.
Windmill Hill City Farm in Bedminster is under threat. It has grown over the past 30 years, and now has loads of stuff for children. More than 200,000 people visit every year. It may close by Christmas, So do visit their website – or pop down if you're local – and show your support.
Green tip: do you find yourself drowning under piles of cardboard and paper? Why not tear off the packaging you don't need at the supermarket till and leave it for them to sort out?
Peter Madden is the Chief Executive of Forum For The Future
5 Comments
by Alex, Redcliffe
Thursday, October 08 2009, 9:19AM
“No, no, no, no, no to idiot left-wing, tree-hugging, lentil eating loonies who actually believe that the myth of human linked climate change is a reality. It is all a big con by the government and the eco industry to find an excuse for more taxes and revenue streams. There is no legitimate reason for fighting the inevitable expansion of UK airports or the desire for people to see the world (unless you live near the airport, but then you chose to live there knowing airports over time increase in size ¿ just move!).
By the way, very sensible responses from Tim and James. I think opponents to this are generally more vocal in the media but if you held a referendum in Bristol for airport expansion then the "yes" vote would definitely win.”
by Tim, Bedminster
Wednesday, October 07 2009, 8:16PM
“Yes, please!
Bristolians should be proud of their airport. It's a great airport that serves the city well. But it's too small and cramped already with current passenger volumes. It urgently needs expansion, not to mention an upgrade in quality (air bridges etc.).
A good local airport and good transport links in general are simply a quality of life factor. No one's going to cut down on flying just because the local airport doesn't provide the opportunity. People will just use London airports (ugh!), B'ham (ugh!) or Manchester (ugh!) airports instead, and suffer and pollute the environment even more on the way there and back.
Besides, some people actually do have to fly for business purposes, believe it or not. This is still an island after all, and all the wealth everyone takes for granted every day still has to come from somewhere.
I wish the council (and the airport) were a bit more ambitious when it comes to public transport links to the airport though, but then they can't even sort out public transport throughout the city, so my expectations are somewhat low. I hope they're using the opportunity to impose some public transport improvements on the airport though (as part of the planning application).”
by John, Brislington
Wednesday, October 07 2009, 12:34PM
“No, no, no, no, no! We have far too many planes and far too much noise polution already. Stop this madness!”
by James, South West
Tuesday, October 06 2009, 12:02PM
“I agree that Bristol Airport is in desperate need of expansion
because it has become a victim of its own outstanding success in the past decade.
The number of passengers using the airport (ninth busiest in the entire UK - 3rd busiest English provincial airport after Manchester and Birmingham) shows the need and I'm not worried in the slightest if the majority of flights are for leisure purposes.
What's wrong with that?
People deserve holidays and if Bristol Airport wasn't there they would fly from somewhere else - no doubt to the great joy of local nimbys.
The passport control for inbound passengers is out of the airport's hands. The UK Border Agency's personnel are responsible for operating this and, like most government agencies, are no doubt short of staff required to provide a perfect service.
It's not just Bristol. Read any passenger experience website and delays at inbound passport control are a common complaint.
Bristol has recently increased its number of passport control stations to seven but I doubt that the Border Agency mans them all very often, if at all.
I”
by Alex, Redcliffe
Tuesday, October 06 2009, 11:09AM
“I definitely want to see a bigger and better Bristol International Airport. However, like you say, this must come with increased capacity both for on-site amenities and in public transport links to get to the airport. Over the years BIA has massively increased the number of flights but has not proportionately increased the size of the check in, security or departure areas. This leads to massive congestion if only a few flights are taking off / landing close to each other. Passport control for arriving back in Bristol is a particular joke and is woefully under-sized, especially as they have the e-passport machines but they are not in use. I recently arrived back at a similar time to 3 other flights and they had a grand total of 5 passport control officers on duty ¿ stupid!
Surely it would make sense to provide better transport links. After all, I am sure that many people do not fly from Bristol specifically because it is not a particularly nice experience. Better public transport would ultimately lead to more revenue for BIA anyway, even if it is indirectly.
With regard to your point about Co2 emissions ¿ that will sort itself out anyway. International targets for emission reductions and cleaner planes/fuels are already being worked on, so more flights in the future will not necessarily lead to more pollution.”