Bristol Airport submits new expansion plans

The £150 million expansion to Bristol Airport could be delayed by up to four years.

The airport is submitting the planning application for the expansion to North Somerset Council today but says the new facilities will not now be completed until 2019 or 2020.

The plans were originally designed to meet an increase in passenger numbers from six million this year to 10 million in 2016. But the airport does not now expect to reach that total until three to four years later.

If the planning application is successful work on the site will start next year.

The plans include a hotel, a multi-storey car park, improved transport links and onsite renewable energy generation.

The number of commercial flights at the expanded airport would increase from about 60,000 in 2008 to 86,000 a year.

Robert Sinclair, chief executive officer of Bristol International Airport, said: “The application has been modified to address the key concerns raised.

"It now strikes the right balance between allowing the sustainable development of the airport to meet the long-term demand for air travel to and from this region, while also reducing and mitigating the environmental effects.”

Bristol Airport said it woould provide money for local projects to improve roads, reduce noise and enhance the local environment.

The airport said it will also commit to maintaining CO2 emissions at or below 2007 levels, with 20 per cent of the additional energy required by the proposed development coming from on-site renewable sources.