Airport Master Plan for next 30 Years - Consultation

[Marko1]

The mayor speaks an awful lot of common sense

 

[TheLocalYokel]

The mayor speaks an awful lot of common sense

He does on this.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I read a piece on the Wrington village website this weekend in which the newly-elected Independent North Somerset councillor for the area wrote about the airport planning applications currently lodged with the council.

This councillor says he is a member of the planning committee that will determine the airport's applications and he therefore quite properly gave no indication of his views on the matter. He and other councillors will visit the site - they might have already done so by now because the article by the councillor was dated over two weeks ago.

He said that the council's planning officers are working through the detail and he believes and that it will be August at the earliest, and probably September, before the planning committee meeting takes place. This means that the meeting has been put back more than once. A few weeks ago the local news media suggested that July would be the date of the meeting.

I note that Stansted has had its planning applications to enable it to increase its future capacity from 35 mppa to 43 mppa refused by its local authority. In so doing the councillors have reportedly ignored the advice of the council's own professional planning officers and the council's own independent legal advice.

Stansted Airport is now considering all options available to it.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

How campaigners against airport expansion hope to win battle

Can the arrival of the airport expansion be stopped?

www.bristolpost.co.uk

Campaigners against Bristol Airport expansion launch legal challenge fighting fund

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I've been re-reading the winter 2018-2019 edition of the BRS magazine Your airport, including the question and answer section regarding the current planning application.

https://www.bristolairport.co.uk/about-us/news-and-media/your-airport-magazine

I'd forgotten that the airport expected the local authority to determine the matter within 16 weeks. The application was submitted on 19 December last year (or at least that is the date of the airport press release saying it had been submitted). 16 weeks would have been sometime in the first half of April this year. The current thinking is that it will now be at least September and, bearing in mind that the date has already been pushed back more than once, I would not bet anything on the September date.

Ironically, if the determination had taken only 16 weeks the previous Conservative-dominated North Somerset Council would have been in power and likely to have viewed the application more favourably than the current council.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

The discussion to which the below quote alludes was originally in the BRS Infrastructure, Construction and Developments thread, but it probably sits better in this thread.

This was in the Weston mercury,cant find the link. There is aenvironmental expert,a senior transport policy lecturer a guy from Bristol uni asustainablity professor and a psychotherapist and on environment. campaigner

I meant to post this reply the other day but it slipped my mind. The Q & A session at Wrington on the 1 July was addressed by the below 'experts' according to a note in the Wrington Parish Council section of the Wrington village website.

Bristol Airport Expansion – ‘Aviation Learn In’ session on 1 July in Wrington Memorial Hall. This is a session organised by local residents that will give information about the impacts of the aviation sector and why it shouldn’t expand. Guest speakers include: Dr Adrian Gibbs (environmental advisor), Dr Steve Melia (Senior Lecturer in Transport Policy, UWE), Professor Chris Priest (sustainability expert at Bristol University) and Tarisha Finnegan-Clarke (Extinction Rebellion’s Bristol Airport Action Group). Doors open at 8.00pm. All welcome!

I don't know how even-handed they were although I note that amongst their number was someone from Extinction Rebellion.

The Wrington Parish Council's website section contains a list of links to items opposing the airport expansion. I'm not sure what the parish council's formal policy is on the subject (if they have one) but they are certainly not bending over backwards to point people in the direction of the counter arguments to those of the expansion opponents.

In another part of the Wrington village website is a section devoted to the village's twinning association with a small French town. I've mentioned this before. The website mentions the history of the twinning, viz,

Villeneuve-lès-Béziers, in the Herault Languedoc region of France, were looking for a compatible English community with whom to set up a twinning relationship. As there are several flights a week between Béziers and Bristol airports, they naturally searched this area of the country. They discovered the Wrington website and apparently liked what they saw of the village and its activities.

So although the parish council and some in the village might not be keen on the airport's expansion they are quite happy to take advantage of the Ryanair service to Béziers, without which the twinning would not have occurred. It's just another example of the hypocrisy practised by some anti-aviation people and groups.

If anyone wants to explore the Wrington village website here is the link.

index

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Villagers plan for mass aerial photo in opposition to Bristol Airport expansion

Hundreds are expected to take part in the protest to show strength of local feeling against airport expansion plan

www.bristolpost.co.uk

It seems that Wrington Parish Council is against further airport expansion. Some sort of demonstration is planned in the village recreation ground.

It would be supremely ironic if Ryanair reviewed its situation at BRS if the airport is not allowed to grow and one of the casualties was the Béziers route.

 

[superking]

Yes and when these protesters cant get a flight to their destination,they will be the first to shout as they got to travel further to get their flight.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Yes and when these protesters cant get a flight to their destination,they will be the first to shout as they got to travel further to get their flight.

The Wrington rec protest is probably being held today because many of those taking part will no doubt be flying out on holiday once the school holidays begin.

 

[Jono577]

They would like an airport to have two flights a year (one out & one back) just on the day they want to go away for the summer holiday!!!!!!

 

[TheLocalYokel]

They would like an airport to have two flights a year (one out & one back) just on the day they want to go away for the summer holiday!!!!!!

I think there is more than a grain of truth in that.

Some people who have said they are against further expansion of BRS have also indicated that they can live with its present size, but no more. When some young people made a video with SBAE (StopBristolAirportExpansion) opposing the expansion, one or two were interviewed on the local tv news and admitted that they use the airport with their parents for holidays.

Then we have the case of Emma Thompson (actress, or actor as a thespian acquaintance of mine insisted should apply to all, irrespective of gender) who flew back from the west coast of the USA to take part in a climate change demonstration in London. Her justification for flying was that in her line of work there is no viable alternative.

That's what really infuriates me - the hypocrisy of many who oppose the proliferation of air travel but use it when it suits them, whilst saying that the rest of us should be more circumspect.

I spoke to an elderly lady recently who was campaigning for the Green Party. They had a stall on the Bristol Harbourside aimed at preventing Bristol Airport expansion. We had a pleasant conversation during which she told me that she no longer flies because of climate change. If she was speaking the truth - and I have no reason for believing otherwise - than I can respect and admire her stance without necessarily agreeing with it. I told her so.

 

[superking]

I think there is more than a grain of truth in that.

Some people who have said they are against further expansion of BRS have also indicated that they can live with its present size, but no more. When some young people made a video with SBAE (StopBristolAirportExpansion) opposing the expansion, one or two were interviewed on the local tv news and admitted that they use the airport with their parents for holidays.

Then we have the case of Emma Thompson (actress, or actor as a thespian acquaintance of mine insisted should apply to all, irrespective of gender) who flew back from the west coast of the USA to take part in a climate change demonstration in London. Her justification for flying was that in her line of work there is no viable alternative.

That's what really infuriates me - the hypocrisy of many who oppose the proliferation of air travel but use it when it suits them, whilst saying that the rest of us should be more circumspect.

I spoke to an elderly lady recently who was campaigning for the Green Party. They had a stall on the Bristol Harbourside aimed at preventing Bristol Airport expansion. We had a pleasant conversation during which she told me that she no longer flies because of climate change. If she was speaking the truth - and I have no reason for believing otherwise - than I can respect and admire her stance without necessarily agreeing with it. I told her so.

Cunard do a fairly regular voyages from New York to Southampton,and there is a French container line that carry passengers on their ships and they cover from the west coast of the States to Europe. So in her statement about no other way to get back to Britain or Europe is wrong. she has not done her home work on various services around the world.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I was re-reading parts of the UK government's 2003 White Paper The Future of Air Transport and had forgotten that this paragraph was included:

The main potential for growth in the South West will be at Bristol Airport. Having due regard to the environmental impacts that would accompany its expansion, we support its development to around 12 mppa, to include a runway extension and new terminal south of the existing runway when these are required.

Interesting that the airport management/owners have shied away from both, although the environmental mood in the country has altered considerably since 2003.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

When Bristol Airport expansion decision will be made by

The airport said its new proposals will allow it to take the next step to becoming an international gateway

www.bristolpost.co.uk

North Somerset Council has confirmed that the airport's expansion application will not be heard by the council until September at the earliest. Their planning committee has a scheduled meeting on 18 September and another on 16 October. However, because of the nature of the application another date for a special meeting might be arranged.

As with the previous major planning applications that were approved in 2011 there are far more objections than support lodged with the council.

Bath & North East Somerset unitary authority has objected to the expansion plans but Somerset County Counci is in favour of phased expansion of the airport. Bristol's elected mayor, Marvin Rees, says that the region will miss out on thousands of new jobs in the next decade if the airport is not allowed to expand.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I was reading the Bristol Airport Annual Monitoring Report for 2018 and the number of air traffic movements caught my eye: 65,503. The CAA annual terminal passenger total (excluding transit passengers which form a very small number at BRS anyway) was 8,696,653.

I then looked at the CAA stas for 2013 and found there were 53,966 air traffic movements to service an annual total of 6,124,826.

This means that whereas annual passenger numbers increased by 42% in that period the number of air traffic movements rose by just over 21%.

BRS wants to increase its annual passenger limit to 12 mppa which would be an increase of 38% on the 2018 annual total. If air traffic movements rose at the same percentage rate as the period 2013-2018 12 mppa would mean another 19-20 departures and a similar number of arrivals per day averaged through the year.

This century BRS has been almost continually increasing its average load each year from under 80 in 2002 to the low 130s in 2018 through a combination of larger aircraft and higher load factors. With easyJet introducing some A 321s later this year together with an increasing number of A320s, and with TUI using the 787 for more routes at BRS each year (next summer it will be permanently based for the season with additional short-haul routes as well as the long-haul programme) there is every reason to suppose that average loads will continue to climb in the coming years.

The one snag might be the night noise quota and night movement restrictions both of which are looking towards their limits, although I believe the Airbus neos are less noisy than the ceos (and also produce lower greenhouse gas emissions) so that might help the noise quota a bit. Ryanair's practice of operating a lot of BRS flights by non-based aircraft ( equivalent to a three-aircraft base) helps the night movement restrictions and night noise quota as the airline tends to operate these flights outside the night time period.

 

[Ice-tongs]

I was reading the Bristol Airport Annual Monitoring Report for 2018 and the number of air traffic movements caught my eye: 65,503. The CAA annual terminal passenger total (excluding transit passengers which form a very small number at BRS anyway) was 8,696,653.

I then looked at the CAA stas for 2013 and found there were 53,966 air traffic movements to service an annual total of 6,124,826.

This means that whereas annual passenger numbers increased by 42% in that period the number of air traffic movements rose by just over 21%.

BRS wants to increase its annual passenger limit to 12 mppa which would be an increase of 38% on the 2018 annual total. If air traffic movements rose at the same percentage rate as the period 2013-2018 12 mppa would mean another 19-20 departures and a similar number of arrivals per day averaged through the year.

This century BRS has been almost continually increasing its average load each year from under 80 in 2002 to the low 130s in 2018 through a combination of larger aircraft and higher load factors. With easyJet introducing some A 321s later this year together with an increasing number of A320s, and with TUI using the 787 for more routes at BRS each year (next summer it will be permanently based for the season with additional short-haul routes as well as the long-haul programme) there is every reason to suppose that average loads will continue to climb in the coming years.

The one snag might be the night noise quota and night movement restrictions both of which are looking towards their limits, although I believe the Airbus neos are less noisy than the ceos (and also produce lower greenhouse gas emissions) so that might help the noise quota a bit. Ryanair's practice of operating a lot of BRS flights by non-based aircraft ( equivalent to a three-aircraft base) helps the night movement restrictions and night noise quota as the airline tends to operate these flights outside the night time period.

I live under the flight path in Congresbury and to fair the night noise is not intrusive. The odd one can be loud but you also get used to hearing them.

It’s generally only the first wave of the day that is particularly noticeable as it is one after the other between 6am and 8, again tho only when planes are taking off over the Bristol channel so not every day.

I’d be interested to know if the residents in Wrington and surrounding villages who are campaigning against any expansion have lived there all their lives or have chosen to move to the area of a busy airport and then start moaning about said airport.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I live under the flight path in Congresbury and to fair the night noise is not intrusive. The odd one can be loud but you also get used to hearing them.

It’s generally only the first wave of the day that is particularly noticeable as it is one after the other between 6am and 8, again tho only when planes are taking off over the Bristol channel so not every day.

I’d be interested to know if the residents in Wrington and surrounding villages who are campaigning against any expansion have lived there all their lives or have chosen to move to the area of a busy airport and then start moaning about said airport.

Like you, I live near the flight path, but to the east of the airport, and only really hear aircraft noise during that 0600-0800 period when aircraft are departing from the easterly runway (09). They rarely wake me up but if I'm awake I can hear them but I probably subconsciously filter them out of my awareness.

I grew up living at Wrington and Redhill in the 1950s. We lived in a cottage at Redhill next to the A 38 at one point and lorries would grind up the hill all night long (pre-M5 when all traffic to/from the South West used the A38). We quickly got used to it and learned to ignore it. When we went on holiday the relative quietness sometimes made it difficult to sleep at first.

There is no doubt that Wrington and other villages in the area have expanded enormously since the 1950s. Although I've had my home in Bristol for many decades I'm in the Wrington area most weeks as I still have contact with families who have lived there for many generations, as mine did.

It's difficult to generalise but from speaking to people who are members of those longstanding village families I get the impression that the 'newcomers' (it takes a generation or two before people can even begin to be regarded as 'local') are more likely to be against airport expansion.

Anyone who moved to the area during most of this century would have been aware of BRS being a rapidly expanding airport with 12 mppa clearly targeted publicly both by the airport in its 2005 master plan and by the DfT in 2003. Perhaps people thought this was pie in the sky and would never happen but, apart from the recession years when growth slowed down, the airport has been in its target range each year since 2005.

From the early 1990s onwards, each time BRS has been in significant expansion mode the same objections have been made. For example, I am looking at Bristol Airport News Issue 1 of 1992. Published by the airport, it's in newspaper format with 16 pages, and the main story concerns the news that a public enquiry was to be held into the airport's plans for a new terminal (the terminal didn't come to fruitiuon for another seven years and only after BRS was sold partly into the private sector in order to secure funding). At that time BRS was handling around one million passengers a year and a new terminal was needed to double this throughput.

Looking at the airport nowadays it seems almost farcical that people should become so worked up about the prospect of 2 mppa. The airport newspaper was even-handed in its approach and quoted several representatives of organisations opposed to the development. The objections were mainly as now: increased traffic; noise; disturbance to local residents. What didn't seem a concern then was the environment as it's not mentioned by any of the objectors. All the groups quoted said they were delighted that the matter was being referred to a public enquiry. Perhaps they thought the enquiry would come out against the new terminal.

I expect there are a number of people now living in the area who adopt the Emma Thompson environmental approach: we must all curb our flying but some of us need to fly - so that's all right then. Wrington Parish Council seems to be generally against expansion but, as I've mentioned before, it enjoys an active twinning relationship with a town in France that came about solely on the back of Ryanair's Beziers route. I find it very difficult to believe that the twinning association does not include some who are opposed to BRS expansion.

 

[superking]

Some guy from 1 of the local villages got hold of North Somerset council to meet him out side of the town hall in Weston Super Mare today as he wanted to present a suit case full of objections for no airport expansion signitures. I did not see local news tonight so I don't know if it went ahead.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Some guy from 1 of the local villages got hold of North Somerset council to meet him out side of the town hall in Weston Super Mare today as he wanted to present a suit case full of objections for no airport expansion signitures. I did not see local news tonight so I don't know if it went ahead.

I heard a brief item on the Radio Bristol News at 8 this morning. I doubt that he will be able, as an individual, to present formal objections to the council on behalf of others.

The brief piece on the local radio news also mentioned that the council's professional planning officers were working through the mass of documents etc that form part of the planning application from which they would come up with recommendations to the council planning committee. Planning committees, that consist of local elected councillors of course, sometimes go against their own planning officers' recommendations.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Someone drew my attention to leaflets circulating that advertise a roadside protest against airport expansion. People are advised to meet at 5.30pm on Thursday 29 August at Felton Village Hall.