Protests planned as Bristol Airport expansion project heads for court

PARENTS and grandparents from around the Bristol area say they will form a circle around the city’s Civil Court today to urge a judge inside to uphold the first decision about the expansion of Bristol Airport.

The parents says their protest will be a ‘peaceful display of unity and love to remind the judge that our liveable future – and that of our children – is at stake.’

One court room at Bristol’s Civil and Family Justice Centre in Redcliffe is a High Court this week, as environmental campaigners from the Bristol Airport Action Network mount a legal challenge to try to overturn the decision which gave planning permission to Bristol Airport to expand.

Bristol Airport’s initial proposal for an extended airport terminal, and an increase in capacity from around nine million passengers a year to 12 million, was refused planning permission by North Somerset Council’s planners in January 2020.

The airport’s owners – the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Fund – appealed to the government, and a planning inspector overturned that decision and granted permission in February this year.

But work has not yet started, because the campaigners mounted a legal challenge – paid for by donations through a crowdfunder – claiming that the Government’s planning inspector did not take the Government’s own climate change Net Zero policies and laws into consideration enough.

That case will be heard this week, starting today, and the climate change activists and campaigners say they intend to be there outside the court.

When the Bristol Airport Action Network group of campaigners were given permission to appeal the planning inspector’s decision, the airport’s lawyers tried and failed to argue the case should be heard at the actual High Court in London, and not at a temporarily convene High Court in Bristol.

The judge allowing the appeal said it should be heard in Bristol – which means now all the local activists can more easily attend and picket outside the court.

“Bristol Airport is big enough,” said charity worker and mother-ofone Lilian Stevens. “Our local council heard the arguments for and against expansion, and listened to the 84 per cent of local residents who don’t want more flights. As well as the additional noise, pollution, and traffic, we can’t afford to pump even more carbon into our atmosphere. The High Court needs to respect local democracy,” she added.

Mum-of-two Chloe Naldrett, from Bishopston, recently spent time in prison for protesting at an oil refinery, said she would be there.

“Our role as parents is to nurture our children, and to act in their best interests,” the 43-year-old said.

The parents’ protest will take place between noon and 2pm, but it won’t be the only event happening today, with other groups under the Bristol Airport Action Network umbrella being involved.

One group is called the ‘Aged Agitators,’ a group of over-70s who wear silver capes and masks and stage stunts to highlight environmental issues.

There will also be a mass choir of more than 70 singers, and Extinction Rebellion Bristol will also be holding a vigil outside the court.

As well as the additional noise, pollution, and traffic, we can’t afford to pump even more carbon into our atmosphere

Charity worker Lilian Stevens