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Bristol Airport planning appeal update

Ashley Cartman • 27 July 2021

Public Inquiry starts into Councils decision to decline Bristol Airports application to expand

In March last year the Council refused plans by Bristol Airport to expand its passenger throughput from 10 million to 12 million passengers a year and to change its night flying arrangements. As noted in my previous post the airport appealed against this decision and as a consequence a public inquiry started last Tuesday (20th July) at the Town Hall in Weston. 

The appeal is expected to last until mid October and will be heard by a panel of three independent Inspectors. The council and the airport submitted their evidence in advance and the inspectors will be working their way through the various aspects of the application over the coming few weeks. 

Last week the Inspectors  initially heard the council’s opening submissions outlining the case they are making, together with the opening submissions of the airport. The focus of the week was then on the evidence from the PCAA (Parish Councils Airport Association), local residents and others with over 65 people making statements. This week the focus will be on the economic and aviation forecasting evidence. 

At the crucial planning committee meeting in 2020 I spoke against the application and was pleased when a majority of Councillors voted to reject it. 


We need to urgently address climate change. When world leaders meet in Glasgow on 31 October for the UN Climate Change Conference (or COP26 as it is more commonly known) it seems crazy that, if things don't go our way, we may be looking at  Bristol Airport increasing its passenger numbers. 

The inquiry is being streamed live via YouTube. The link to the live stream, as well as the running order for the inquiry can be found on the inquiry website. The councils website has answers to a number of FAQ's and will be updated regularly as the inquiry progresses.

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