CBI supports airport expansion
ONE of the UK’s biggest business organisations has said it will support Bristol Airport’s expansion appeal.
The CBI said the proposals would help meet the region’s growing demand for air travel, create new international opportunities for South West businesses and also be a “significant step” towards the Government’s ‘levelling up’ agenda.
The controversial expansion plans were rejected by councillors in North Somerset last year, with the transport hub lodging an appeal in September.
The airport’s proposals to increase capacity from 10 million passengers to 12 million a year, while adding thousands more parking spaces, were thrown out after council chiefs said the environmental and societal costs outweighed the economic benefits.
The controversial decision to reject the application went against advice from the council’s own planning officers, which meant the decision had to be ratified at a second meeting.
The decision is now being be taken at national level and will be made by an independent planning inspector or, if the appeal is recovered, by the Government.
“Bristol Airport is one of the key drivers of prosperity for North Somerset, Bristol, and the South West, supporting nearly 30,000 direct and indirect jobs and contributing around £1.7 billion to the regional economy,” said Ben Rhodes, CBI South West deputy director.
“The increased connectivity which Bristol Airport’s expansion would deliver can be an important part of a South West economic recovery which places sustainability at its heart.”
Bristol Airport claims its plans to expand would offer passengers more routes and flights from the South West, create jobs, facilitate inward investment and inbound tourism, and support greener and more sustainable, regional economic growth.
It said it would also offer an opportunity to explore new flight routes in the Middle East and North America, but those campaigning against the proposals have claimed the expansion could be harmful to the environment, creating noise and air pollution and damaging the habitats of some wildlife.
Bristol Airport Action Network (BAAN) said it would be gathering a legal and expert team to give evidence on the impact of aviation on climate change at the appeal. This month, the group launched a documentary that follows the year-long campaign they ran against the airport’s expansion.
Richard Baxter, a spokesperson for the group, said: “It has been an amazing and emotional journey with local people coming together to take on the might of the airport.
“We felt the story of the campaign to help defeat the airport needed to be told and hopefully will inspire other activist groups to do the same.”
Dave Lees, chief executive of Bristol Airport, said: “Expansion at Bristol Airport will spur growth in the South West and increase the rate at which jobs are created, replacing those lost at the airport during the current crisis.
“Although demand is temporarily suppressed, it is forecast to return to pre-pandemic levels in the coming years. The sector has been operating at close to capacity for some time and expansion at regional airports will allow growth to benefit all regions across the UK.”