Bristol Airport has won a planning appeal to be allowed to expand and increase its capacity from 10 million to 12 million passengers a year.
Dave Lees, CEO, Bristol Airport said: “Bristol Airport welcomes the decision of the Planning Inspectorate. The decision is excellent news for our region’s economy, allowing us to create thousands of new jobs in the years ahead and provide more choice for our customers, supporting inbound tourism, and reducing the millions of road journeys made to London airports each year.
“We will now push ahead with our multi-million-pound plans for net zero operations by 2030 and look forward to working with stakeholders and the community to deliver sustainable growth.”
The airport said “necessary terminal expansion” would come alongside further improved public transport options, road infrastructure and enhanced environmental projects.
Expanding capacity is projected to add 800 jobs at Bristol Airport and up to a further 5,000 jobs regionally, with a focus on the region’s most deprived areas. It will also bring an estimated £430 million to the economy of the South West of England and South Wales.
North Somerset Council refused the airport’s original planning application at its Planning and Regulatory Committee in March 2020 against the advice of its own planning officers. Bristol Airport then submitted an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate in September 2020 and a public inquiry ran from July to October 2021.
Join Somerset Chamber of Commerce to give your business a stronger voice both locally, regionally and nationally. Combined with local town chambers, we represent over 2,000 businesses across Somerset with a direct line to policy-makers at all levels.
