Bath & North East Somerset Council has formally objected to Bristol Airport’s expansion plans. The transport hub in North Somerset wishes to boost passenger numbers to 12 million by 2026.

B&NES Council members said in March the proposals were incompatible with the authority’s own aims of being carbon neutral by 2030 as they declared a climate emergency. It has now submitted a formal objection that focuses on the impact the increased airport traffic will have on roads in Bath & North East Somerset.

The objection letter says: “There remains a significant concern that the proposed mitigation measures may not be able to resolve the existing problems experienced on the A38 road corridor, and this would result in traffic diverting through alternative routes. This includes the B3130 road corridor and surrounding routes.”

It adds: “To ensure that the potential traffic impacts of the airport expansion are managed, it is critical that active and effective measures are included to provide viable public transport connections to the airport site.”

Councillor Robin Moss’ Labour group led calls in March for B&NES Council to oppose the expansion of Bristol Airport. He said last week the response gives the impression that, if the parking and transport issues were to be addressed, the authority would support the proposed expansion.

Cllr Moss said: “The response goes nowhere near far enough as it completely ignores the decision taken by the council at its meeting in March, when it was agreed, as part of the debate on declaring a climate emergency, to oppose unconditionally the expansion of Bristol Airport because of the impact of air travel on climate change.

“If we are even to begin to address the climate emergency we need to be prepared to take tough decisions right now and not kick the can down the road.”

Former Labour councillor, Joe Rayment, who proposed that B&NES Council opposed the expansion of Bristol Airport, added: “I think it’s disappointing that this new Liberal Democrat administration have not made any objection on the grounds that increasing air travel is a massive backwards step in tackling climate change.

“That’s the really big problem with expansion of this or any airport and what should be in the mind of anyone making a decision on expansion.”

Tim Ball, cabinet member for Housing, Planning and Economic Development and Councillor Sarah Warren, cabinet member for Climate Emergency, wrote to North Somerset Council leaders urging them to take account of the Climate Emergency and the urgent need to cut carbon emissions when deciding whether to grant the airport permission to expand.

Councillor Ball said: “When Bath & North East Somerset Council declared a Climate Emergency earlier this year, it included a commitment to provide the necessary leadership to enable carbon neutrality across the district by 2030 and a commitment to oppose the expansion of Bristol Airport as incompatible with our carbon neutrality goal.

“From a planning perspective, as a consultee, we have submitted an objection on highways grounds, expressing our concern about the very real impact the increase in airport traffic will have on our nearby rural communities.

“However, we want to ensure that councillors in North Somerset do not interpret this as the sole basis of our concern about the expansion and therefore wrote to the leader of North Somerset Council and the council’s cabinet member for Planning and Transport, asking for an urgent meeting to discuss the issue.”

Councillor Sarah Warren added: “The proposed expansion of Bristol Airport won’t just affect North Somerset. Carbon pollution from aviation is one of the fastest-growing sources of the greenhouse gas emissions which drive global climate change.

“Increasing the capacity of Bristol Airport, and therefore the number of aircraft flying in and out will exacerbate the problem and that goes against the commitment that we, and indeed North Somerset Council, have made to tackle climate change in declaring a Climate Emergency.

“I’m delighted our counterparts in North Somerset have agreed to meet with us and hope they will listen to our concerns and take them on board in making their decision.”

The fate of the planning application will be decided by North Somerset Council. Bath & North East Somerset Council will soon be laying out its approach to the Climate Emergency Declaration in more detail, including the commitment to oppose Bristol Airport’s proposed expansion.

Stephen Sumner, LDR