Agenda item

The following motion has been submitted for consideration by the West of England Joint Committee:

 

Motion on Bristol Airport Expansion

Motion to be moved by Metro Mayor Dan Norris.

‘The Joint Committee recognises:
- There is a climate and biodiversity emergency.
- The West of England has ambition net zero targets for 2030.
- The proposed expansion of Bristol Airport is one of the biggest carbon decisions in the region for the coming decade.
- The pandemic has significantly reduced air travel with a 75.6% drop in passenger numbers in 2020.
- Bristol Airport’s role as an employer in the region and the need for a just transition to a greener economy that does not leave workers worse-off.
- Bristol City Council and Bath and North East Somerset Council opposition to current airport expansion and North Somerset Council's decision to refuse planning permission to expand beyond 10 million passengers a year.

The Joint Committee resolves:
- To oppose the latest plans to expand Bristol Airport.’

The West of England Joint Committee RESOLVED:

 

The Joint Committee recognises:  

- There is a climate and biodiversity emergency.

- The West of England has ambition net zero targets for 2030.   

- The proposed expansion of Bristol Airport is one of the biggest carbon decisions in the region for the coming decade.  

- The pandemic has significantly reduced air travel with a 75.6% drop in passenger numbers in 2020 and is expected to recover although to an unknown level.

- Bristol Airport’s role as an employer in the region and the need for a just transition to a greener economy that does not leave workers worse-off.  

- Bristol City Council and Bath and North East Somerset Council opposition to current airport expansion and North Somerset Council's decision to refuse planning permission to expand beyond 10 million passengers a year

- The importance of the wider aerospace centre of excellence at Filton and its major contribution to our economy, skills base and industrial heritage.

- Ongoing efforts being pioneered locally by industry to decarbonise aviation, including through the Jet Zero initiative.

 

Further recognises:

- The Combined Authority’s role as Transport Authority for its area to improve sustainable and decarbonised travel options to and from the Airport.

 

The Joint Committee resolves:  

 

- To oppose the latest plans to expand Bristol Airport.   

 

- Supporting North Somerset Council’s position in refusing Bristol Airport’s latest planning application which is currently the subject of an appeal inquiry and to oppose the additional expansion of Bristol Airport represented in that planning application.

 

- Opposing the carbon emissions associated with the additional expansion of Bristol Airport represented in their latest planning application.

 

- To request that West of England Chief Executives bring a report back to the October 2021 meeting setting out a range of proposals to support the decarbonising of aviation.

 

Motion – Bristol Airport expansion

The Chair moved the following motion for consideration by the West of England Joint Committee:

 

‘The Joint Committee recognises:

- There is a climate and biodiversity emergency.

- The West of England has ambition net zero targets for 2030.

- The proposed expansion of Bristol Airport is one of the biggest carbon decisions in the region for the coming decade.

- The pandemic has significantly reduced air travel with a 75.6% drop in passenger numbers in 2020.

- Bristol Airport’s role as an employer in the region and the need for a just transition to a greener economy that does not leave workers worse-off.

- Bristol City Council and Bath and North East Somerset Council opposition to current airport expansion and North Somerset Council's decision to refuse planning permission to expand beyond 10 million passengers a year.

 

The Joint Committee resolves:

- To oppose the latest plans to expand Bristol Airport.’

In moving the motion, the Chair added that in his view, it was time for moral leadership to be shown on this issue, in line with public opinion.  He reflected that 11 years ago, when he was a government environment minister responsible for climate change adaptation, he had been advised that Great Britain was the second biggest producer of CO2 emissions in the history of the world.  Given this context, he was proud of the region’s ambitious 2030 net zero carbon target and was determined to do everything possible to achieve it, recognising that this was a very tough challenge requiring a 10 per cent reduction each year in CO2 emissions.

The motion was seconded by Councillor Guy.  In seconding the motion, Councillor Guy  added that it was important to be clear about how the region can support the aerospace industry to become greener.  It was unrealistic to think ‘overnight’ that people would stop flying, so therefore it was critical for the authorities to do their utmost to encourage the aerospace industry to be as green as possible, as quickly as possible.  He reminded the committee that Bath and North East Somerset Council opposed the latest plans to expand Bristol Airport and welcomed this motion which moved the Combined Authority’s position towards that footing. Referring to Bristol Airport’s plans and actions to reduce its carbon footprint, it was unrealistic for the Airport to expect to achieve this at the same time that it was seeking to expand passenger numbers.

 

Councillor Savage then moved the following amendment to the motion:

 

The motion to be reworded as follows:

 

‘The Joint Committee recognises:

- There is a climate and biodiversity emergency.

- The West of England has ambition net zero targets for 2030.

- The proposed expansion of Bristol Airport is one of the biggest carbon decisions in the region for the coming decade.

- The pandemic has significantly reduced air travel with a 75.6% drop in passenger numbers in 2020 and is expected to recover although to an unknown level.

- Bristol Airport’s role as an employer in the region and the need for a just transition to a greener economy that does not leave workers worse-off.

- The importance of the wider aerospace centre of excellence at Filton and its major contribution to our economy, skills base and industrial heritage.

- Ongoing efforts being pioneered locally by industry to decarbonise aviation, including through the Jet Zero initiative.

- Bristol City Council and Bath and North East Somerset Council opposition to current airport expansion and North Somerset Council’s decision to refuse planning permission to expand beyond 10 million passengers a year.

 

Further recognises:

- The Combined Authority’s role as Transport Authority to improve sustainable and decarbonised travel options to and from the Airport.

Notes with concern:

- The sudden loss of senior WECA officer capability to deliver the step change in public transport improvements needed to serve the Airport.

 

The Joint Committee resolves:

- To oppose the carbon emissions associated with the additional expansion of Bristol Airport represented in their latest planning application.

- To request that West of England Chief Executives bring a report back to the October 2021 meeting setting out a range of proposals to support the decarbonising of aviation.’

The amendment was seconded by Councillor Davies.  In seconding the amendment, Councillor Davies made the point that because North Somerset Council last year voted to oppose the expansion of the Airport to 12 million passengers a year, and there was an extant planning appeal, he had to be mindful of any statements he made at this meeting given the ongoing appeal inquiry.  He was supportive of the amendment but added that it was important to be clear that in the context of the Combined Authority’s role as a transport authority, it needs to be recognised that North Somerset Council is a transport authority in its own right. 

 

Voting then took place on the amendment.  3 members voted in favour of the amendment, 1 against, with 1 abstention.  Due to the fact that the Chair, as Metro Mayor, had voted against, the amendment fell.

 

The Chair then moved the following amendment to the original motion:

The motion to be reworded as follows:

‘The Joint Committee recognises:  

- There is a climate and biodiversity emergency.

- The West of England has ambition net zero targets for 2030.   

- The proposed expansion of Bristol Airport is one of the biggest carbon decisions in the region for the coming decade.  

- The pandemic has significantly reduced air travel with a 75.6% drop in passenger numbers in 2020 and is expected to recover although to an unknown level.

- Bristol Airport’s role as an employer in the region and the need for a just transition to a greener economy that does not leave workers worse-off.  

- Bristol City Council and Bath and North East Somerset Council opposition to current airport expansion and North Somerset Council's decision to refuse planning permission to expand beyond 10 million passengers a year.

- The importance of the wider aerospace centre of excellence at Filton and its major contribution to our economy, skills base and industrial heritage.

- Ongoing efforts being pioneered locally by industry to decarbonise aviation, including through the Jet Zero initiative.

 

Further recognises:

- The Combined Authority’s role as Transport Authority for its area to improve sustainable and decarbonised travel options to and from the Airport.

 

The Joint Committee resolves:  

- To oppose the latest plans to expand Bristol Airport.   

- Supporting North Somerset Council’s position in refusing Bristol Airport’s latest planning application which is currently the subject of an appeal inquiry and to oppose the additional expansion of Bristol Airport represented in that planning application.

- Opposing the carbon emissions associated with the additional expansion of Bristol Airport represented in their latest planning application.

- To request that West of England Chief Executives bring a report back to the October 2021 meeting setting out a range of proposals to support the decarbonising of aviation.’

 

The amendment was seconded by Councillor Guy.  In seconding the amendment, Councillor Guy commented that it was important to show to the public that the Combined Authority was opposed to the current Airport expansion plans.  He also welcomed the fact that the amendment took on board the point raised earlier at the meeting about supporting the aviation industry to become greener.

In response to a point raised by Councillor Davies, it was noted that, if this amendment was agreed, a report setting out a range of proposals to support the decarbonising of aviation would be submitted to the Joint Committee.

Councillor Savage welcomed this amendment to the original motion and the fact that it took on board some of the key points raised in the earlier amendment.  It was important to recognise the region’s strong aerospace industry; this needs to thrive but more needs to be done to help the industry in their decarbonising efforts. He was pleased that this was reflected in the amendment including the reference to the Jet Zero initiative. He also welcomed the acknowledgement that the Combined Authority has a role as a transport authority in improving sustainable travel choices as this could affect carbon emissions associated with the Airport.  He noted that one aspect of his earlier amendment that was not included in this amendment was the reference to the departure of the Combined Authority’s Director of Infrastructure; he wished to place on record that he felt this was a huge loss to the Combined Authority of an officer who had shown ongoing commitment to collaborative and partnership working.

Councillor Savage also noted the explicit reference in the amendment to opposing the latest plans to expand Bristol airport.  Whilst not doubting the strength of public feeling on this issue, members should be realistic as to how meaningful it actually was for the committee to oppose the airport expansion, given that the airport was not within the Combined Authority’s footprint; the Combined Authority also had no power over the planning decision.  Finally, further to his earlier comment, he recognised the importance of a report being brought back on how the aerospace industry’s decarbonising efforts could be supported.

Councillor Davies welcomed the amendment and added that the support of the surrounding authorities for the North Somerset Council decision to refuse the expansion while the planning appeal was underway was hugely uplifting for North Somerset as an authority.

The Chair commented that in his view, the public view on this issue was ahead of politicians and, as per his earlier comment, it was time to demonstrate moral leadership. 

Voting then took place on the amendment.  4 members voted in favour of the amendment, none against, with 1 abstention. 

The amendment having been carried, the Joint Committee then voted on this as the substantive motion (including the amendment) and

RESOLVED (4 members voting in favour, none against, with 1 abstention):

The Joint Committee recognises:  

- There is a climate and biodiversity emergency.

- The West of England has ambition net zero targets for 2030.   

- The proposed expansion of Bristol Airport is one of the biggest carbon decisions in the region for the coming decade.  

- The pandemic has significantly reduced air travel with a 75.6% drop in passenger numbers in 2020 and is expected to recover although to an unknown level.

- Bristol Airport’s role as an employer in the region and the need for a just transition to a greener economy that does not leave workers worse-off.  

- Bristol City Council and Bath and North East Somerset Council opposition to current airport expansion and North Somerset Council's decision to refuse planning permission to expand beyond 10 million passengers a year

- The importance of the wider aerospace centre of excellence at Filton and its major contribution to our economy, skills base and industrial heritage.

- Ongoing efforts being pioneered locally by industry to decarbonise aviation, including through the Jet Zero initiative.

 

Further recognises:

- The Combined Authority’s role as Transport Authority for its area to improve sustainable and decarbonised travel options to and from the Airport.

 

The Joint Committee resolves:  

- To oppose the latest plans to expand Bristol Airport.   

- Supporting North Somerset Council’s position in refusing Bristol Airport’s latest planning application which is currently the subject of an appeal inquiry and to oppose the additional expansion of Bristol Airport represented in that planning application.

- Opposing the carbon emissions associated with the additional expansion of Bristol Airport represented in their latest planning application.

- To request that West of England Chief Executives bring a report back to the October 2021 meeting setting out a range of proposals to support the decarbonising of aviation.