Democracy Takes A Break Thanks To BIA's Lounge Lizards

bristol | the environment | news report Tuesday January 15, 2008 20:17 by Crash

Bristol International Airport, longing for a future where Bristol's richest residents fly every weekend to their holiday homes in Bulgaria, have struggled with how to keep that rather irritating process called 'democracy' at bay, which was threatening to give residents some say in the Airport's climate-wrecking activites. Christmas, when most of us -- together with North Somerset's planning department -- were enjoying a hard earned break, seemed the perfect opportunity to sneak proposals for another increase in terminal capacity in through the back door.

Bristol International Airport have put in for planning permission under General Permitted Development Order of the Town and Country planning act, to build a massive extension to their terminal building under the guise of a walkway. The extension is 3 times as long as the existing terminal and has satellite lounges along its length to increase terminal capacity and throughput.

They put this in on 18th December with a three week consultation period - yet it was not even visible to the general public until 7th January.

BIA previously promised to never hide a planning application in a holiday and yet that is exactly what they have done.

The application is not a legitimate permitted development because is it too large and is a terminal extension. It aslo is not needed for urgent operational efficiency reasons but instead to allow for significant increase in passenger numbers in the future.

None of this was covered by the Master Plan, the stakeholder's workshops, the impact assessments or any other consultation or background literature from BIA in the past. All of the traffic, noise, clijmate change and negative economic impacts of increasing passengers will still occur - but BIA is attempting to prevent the public or even the planning authority from objecting to it.

Please urgently send an objection including some or all of these points to:
dccomments@n-somerset.gov.uk with subject : application 07/P/3214/PAI