Bristol Airport - proposals for expansion and bus services - merged posts

[whole diary]

[TonyK]

So we use agricultural land to allow people to fly rather than feeding people.  Not a good look if as predicted the known amount of climate change causes food shortages in some parts of the world. 

It makes as much sense as the many fields around Devon growing maize to throw into anaerobic digesters to generate subsidies green electricity while we continue to import food that can be grow at home. Thankfully, being Canadian, they will probably repurpose an old coal mine or open cast iron pit, rather than use existing agricultural land. It is also possible that I let my imagination get the better of me, again.

In other news, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has just announce a cut in the aviation passenger duty levied on internal flights, and an extension of state help for regional airports.

Those green aeroplanes have a long way to go...

Should soon pass private cars, I reckon. May even gave done so already, given the introduction of newer engines since 2018.

[grahame]

In other news, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has just announce a cut in the aviation passenger duty levied on internal flights, and an extension of state help for regional airports.

How is that green, or is he about to announce an even greater cut in train fares ... driving private to public (air) to public (rail)?

[Red Squirrel]

Should soon pass private cars, I reckon. May even gave done so already, given the introduction of newer engines since 2018.

Doesn't seem likely, given the rate of growth of electric car sales.

IEA, Global electric car stock, 2010-2019, IEA, Paris https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/charts/global-electric-car-stock-2010-2019

[TonyK]

In other news, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has just announce a cut in the aviation passenger duty levied on internal flights, and an extension of state help for regional airports.

How is that green, or is he about to announce an even greater cut in train fares ... driving private to public (air) to public (rail)?

I don't think he said it was green, but if burning American wood pellets is green, it probably is green. I'm sure the explanation will be with us soon. It isn't with immediate effect anyway, so if you were thinking of flying to Glasgow to lobby the COP26 people, you will still have to pay the full current rate.

[broadgage]

In other news, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has just announce a cut in the aviation passenger duty levied on internal flights, and an extension of state help for regional airports.

How is that green, or is he about to announce an even greater cut in train fares ... driving private to public (air) to public (rail)?

So much for greening the economy.

Subsidies for regional airports, will encourage more use thereof and increase carbon emissions.
Cut in air passenger duty, to reduce airline fares and encourage more flying.

Meanwhile petrol is at about the same cash price as it was ten years ago, and therefore much cheaper if compared to inflation or wages.

Train fares increase every year. It almost looks like a long term policy to encourage driving and flying and to discourage rail travel.

[TonyK]

So much for greening the economy.

Be fair, broadgage. The spin doctors haven't had a go at this yet. They're not so green as they're cabbage looking.*

(* I don't understand it either. I'm from Lancashire.)

[broadgage]

I think that "cabbage looking" is an old and potentially insulting term for a person with severe mental or physical  disability. As in "just sits or lies there like a cabbage" not capable of much thought or movement.

A London gangster saying was "to cabbage someone" meaning a beating or assault that was not fatal, but that caused serious disability.

[TonyN]

In other news, Chancellor Rishi Sunak has just announce a cut in the aviation passenger duty levied on internal flights, and an extension of state help for regional airports.

At the end of the Budget did Rishi say wether the Budget was sponsored by Ryanair or Easyjet.

[IndustryInsider]

Either way, I expect there was furious lobbying, just like there has been with the SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) planned cuts.

[broadgage]

Except that the aviation industry lobbying has worked and produced tax cuts and public funding for airports.

The passenger lobbying regarding Waterloo to Bristol services, MIGHT succeed, but dont count on it.

[broadgage]

Breaking news, Bristol airport expansion approved, as announced on today's evening news.

More flights, more passengers, more pollution, more global warming. The climate emergency is now very last year.

Appalling news. Even I would not ban air travel, but to actively increase capacity is a backwards step.

[johnneyw]

I didn't expect that!

It occurred to me that this will also have big implications on getting these increased numbers of passengers to and from the airport.  How will this be addressed?

[broadgage]

I didn't expect that!

It occurred to me that this will also have big implications on getting these increased numbers of passengers to and from the airport.  How will this be addressed?

According to the TV news report there will be "loads of buses swooping in and out" so that is all right then.

I expect some PV modules and a few electric car charging points, for greenwashing.

[TonyK]

Breaking news, Bristol airport expansion approved, as announced on today's evening news.

More flights, more passengers, more pollution, more global warming. The climate emergency is now very last year.

Appalling news. Even I would not ban air travel, but to actively increase capacity is a backwards step.

Unsurprisingly, I don't share your sense of dismay, and see it as a positive step forward. Not just for Bristol, but for the overall reduction in traffic criss-crossing the country in search of a flight.

I haven't been able to find the inspector's decision yet, to see on what basis he came to his conclusion. There is already talk of legal action by the council and anti-aviation group. You may recall that some time ago, I said:

Like others, I think this decision will not survive an appeal and a public inquiry. The council went against their planning officer's recommendation, and wrote a rebuttal of his advice. Any appeal will be based on law and policy at the time the application was made, so any new limits subsequently introduced will have no bearing on it. If NSDC's reasons did not follow national policy, they will be overturned. I hope they didn't turn down the application simply to appease the protesters outside the town hall, knowing full well that an appeal would succeed and secretly looking forward to the increased business rates and the chance to blame the Tories, because that is not an efficient use of council tax money. It isn't unheard of - look at Bristol City Council and the MacDonalds in Fishponds.

I'll stick my neck out, not very far, and say that any legal action will be futile unless the inspector is found to have had a vested interest, which won't happen. There is a six-week window in which to apply for a judicial review. I think the action group is more likely than North Somerset DC^▸ (Direct Current) to seek judicial review, unless the council can be persuaded to risk throwing good money after bad. This appeal will have cost them a lot of their taxpayers' money, and they may yet have to pay the airport's costs too. A JR needn't cost them more than a teacher's salary for a year, unless they try to turn it into a re-run of the flawed arguments they used to refuse permission. Bristol Airport Action Network's representative has said the group will be speaking to a legal team about the decision. I am sure they will find one willing to take on the work, for a consideration.

On the positive side, I hope that the airport makes good on any undertakings it made regarding transport to the airport. I am sure it will - before the pandemic struck, the majority of buses using the South Bristol Link Road were heading to or from the airport. They seem to have abandoned it in favour of a return to the route through Bedminster. I don't know if that is permanent, but the airport tends towards the pragmatic, and may well return to running both versions of the route as traffic picks up. That is assuming the guided bit and Cumberland Road remain fit for use by buses. I don't like the early signs, though. Better bus infrastructure is mentioned in the report from ITV, but nothing about rail.

[stuving]

This BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) report includes a helpful link (for once) to the inspectors' report.

The conclusion is brief in the extreme:

Conclusion
562. Despite the harms identified and taking account of all other considerations, the Panel concludes that the balance falls in favour of the grant of planning permission.
563. For the reasons given above, and having regard to all matters raised, the Panel conclude that the appeal should be allowed.

But in among a lot of matching pairs of hands, this looks as crucial as any:

554. Other environmental effects have been assessed, including climate change, highways matters, air quality, as well as character and appearance (and the AONB^▸ (Areas Of Natural Beauty)), and biodiversity. These are considered to be neutral in the balance as no material harm was found, nor conflict with relevant development plan policies or other broader national policy objectives.

(Yes, the whole report is that long.)