Bristol Airport Plans Unvieled to Councillors Only

bristol | transport | news report Wednesday October 22, 2008 22:33 by AirportWatch - SouthWestWatch

SouthWestWatch - Want some news mate? Do ya! Here you go! News! News! News!

The long awaited Bristol Airport expansions plans were finally unveiled, but not to you and I - oh no - the plans were shown by a sneak preview to Councilors (as they are much more important than us) first - oh and the Evening Post go to report on it too. Very democratic.

The hugely controversial new plans are reputed to double the size of the troubled airport into a massive transport processing centre;

A three-star hotel is also being planned along with a five-storey car park. As a result of the terrorist attacks on Glasgow Airport, the Government has insisted on a vehicle exclusion zone at all British airports and the forecourt at Lulsgate is set to be replaced with a grass, pedestrian area. Instead, a new passenger drop-off area and bus terminus will be built on the top floor of the car park, which will be linked directly to the terminal building by a glass-walled corridor. The new car park will have enough space for 3,600 cars and will include both short-term and long-term sections as well as space for hire cars. http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/Bristol-Airport-s-7....html

Oh! Terrorism! Since the thankfully inept wingnuts 'attacked' Glasgow Airport, spreading terror out from to the regions, this was always going to be an issue. No doubt this aspect of the plan will be subject to much scrutiny, especially in the light of recent investigation by reporter Jeffrey Goldberg into US airports which he described as “security theater” designed to make travelers feel better and catch stupid terrorists. http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200811/airport-security

The airport bosses say they plan to submit the plans so the great unwashed can see them in March 2009, but some fear they will try to sneak them through before Christmas this year.

The Evening Post article carries on its sterling journalistic duty of writing about the controversial topic without mentioning in the words 'climate', 'change' and 'global' or 'warming' once - again. This is going to be a tricky one for the airport to side-step, after-all when you double the site and the capacity and provide a new car-park of 3600 spaces that makes Cabot Circus look like a, well ... a circus - there is going to be a big carbon cost to explain away.

Related Stories:

More Trouble for Bristol Airport
http://bristol.indymedia.org/article/688836

Second Airport for Bristol Overhype
http://bristol.indymedia.org/article/689010

And if you don't like this carbunkle - try "Stop Bristol Airport Expansion: Get ready for the big push!"
http://bristol.indymedia.org/article/689073