Bristol Airport 'must be capped at eight million passengers'

Protestors fighting the expansion of Bristol International Airport have called for passenger numbers to be capped at eight million a year if plans go ahead.

In a dramatic concession, members of the Stop Bristol Airport Expansion (SBAE) group said yesterday that if the scheme did go ahead the limit on passengers would represent "a balanced approach".

The call for a compromise solution came as members of North Somerset Council's North and Central planning committees debated the application at back-to-back meetings in Weston-super-Mare yesterday.

North Somerset Council is made up of four planning committees – South, North, Central and West.

The airport falls within the South patch but councillors from the North and Central committees gave their views as official consultees on the plans yesterday.

The West committee will debate the plans next Thursday and the South committee is expected to reveal its final decision on the application on December 9.

Hilary Burn, of SBAE, told the North council meeting: "If councillors are not so minded to turn down the application, we request a capping of eight million passengers per annum to allow the uncertainties of the development to be resolved.

"Growth above eight million passengers per annum should not be allowed until the South Bristol Road Link and Bus Rapid Transit scheme have secured funding and been delivered."

SBAE claim the capping can be made by controlling the number of new routes introduced each year.

It has previously objected outright to any expansion of the Lulsgate airport.

The airport is currently proposing an increase in passenger numbers from six million a year in 2008, to 10 million annually by 2019.

Multi-storey car parks, a new administration building and a newly expanded terminal are included in the application.

Bristol International Airport chief executive Robert Sinclair told councillors: "More than six million passengers used the airport last year. Inbound visitors have nearly tripled in five years.

"Job numbers have doubled since 2000 and many local businesses and people save significant time and money by using the airport. We have now reached a critical stage in our development. Passenger numbers are rising again and our current facilities are not adequate."

But residents of Barrow Gurney told the meeting their village was struggling under the weight of traffic using the route as a short cut.

Jeff Coombes, 55, a parish councillor for the village, said: "I have lived in Barrow Gurney for the last 18 years and have watched the evolution of Lulsgate.

"I laughed when it renamed itself Bristol International Airport but I'm not laughing now.

"Traffic uses the village from 5am to 9pm, 365 days a year and people can no longer move around the village freely.

"Our Millennium Green, which the airport contributed money to, is virtually inaccessible."

Alison Tucker, of Kenn, lives under the flightpath of the airport. She told councillors: "I have noticed more and more noise from my garden from planes and I feel they are taking short cuts from normal flight paths to save money and fuel."

Support for the expansion plans came from Weston businessman Richard Roller, who runs machinery firm Powervamp from the Oldmixon trading estate.

He said: "The airport is a critical asset for the region. Direct flights from Bristol to the US have transformed the way we do business. The US flights and the Easyjet routes at Bristol meant we scrapped plans to move the business to mid-Wales."

Jillian Battersby chairwoman of Cleeve Parish Council, lives directly under the flight path and is concerned about the potential increase in night flights and the noise it would bring.

"She told the Central committee meeting: "The noise from the aircraft during the day could also be very annoying.

"If one is outside having a conversation there is often the need to break off. Noise has been both a nuisance and detrimental to health. Today it is tolerable, but a large increase as in the planning application could have a significant impact on the people of Cleeve."

Debbie Richards, of Academie Aquitaine, which runs exchange trips between Bristol and Bordeaux and is based in the airport's old terminal building, told the committee that the expansion of the airport would provide more opportunities for teenagers to broaden their cultural knowledge.

She said: "The airport has supported the development of this work. Although I am not insensitive to environmental issues, I feel that the south west needs a strong airport. I am speaking out in favour of Bristol International Airport."

Georgie Bigg, of the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England, said: "We are at a turning point in terms of capacity for the local countryside. The airport already brings passengers the opportunity to fly anywhere within the world from Bristol, what has to be considered is whether you are willing to destroy the quality of life that makes the area attractive, or this growth."

Councillors debating the issue at the central committee were very concerned about the underlying traffic issues that need to be resolved in the villages around the airport.

Councillor Alan McMurray (Con), who represents Portishead South, said: "Anyone who's had to travel to Gatwick or Heathrow knows what a nightmare it can be in terms of access, so having Bristol on our doorstep is ideal.

"However, I'm worried about infrastructure and that needs to be addressed before any plans are approved."

Cllr Nigel Ashton (Con), of Gordano ward, said: "My request is that the decisions we take on these issues are not emotional ones.

"We won't suddenly see a growth from six million passengers one day, to 10 million the next – it will be a natural growth of flights. But we must look at the impact on local infrastructure."

Councillor Carl Francis-Pester (Con), of Easton-in-Gordano, said: "We need to look at who is using the airport, where the new passengers are going.

"We also need to look at claims that 3,500 new jobs will be created. "

Councillors recommended that a list of concerns, including climate change and expansion of the airport infrastructure, to be sent to the South planning committee.

Councillor Karen Barclay (Independent), Backwell, said: "We have been told that the airport is at a critical stage in its development, but I think we have reached a critical stage in the situation for local roads. The impact on local residents needs to be properly assessed."

Councillor Andy Cole (Lib Dem), Nailsea East, pointed out that people driving to London for long-haul flights also had its own impact on the environment.

He said: "It seems illogical local residents have to travel miles to airports in London with the carbon emissions involved. A more sensible strategy has got to involve a local airport."

Councillor Tom Collinson (Independent), Backwell, raised the views of the parish councillors in North Somerset who had taken the time to draw up their views on the issue.

He said: "There are a lot of responsible and very serious objections. I would really like the South area committee to take into account the excellent evidence put forward by the rural shire county parish councillors."