Bristol Airport has begun preparing a new Master Plan which will set out potential development to respond to increasing passenger demand forecast over the next three decades and beyond.
A ten week consultation begins today (16 November 2017) to seek views from the public on its priorities and initial concepts that will guide the airport in its development plans to respond to forecast demand of up to 20 million passengers a year by the mid-2040s. Feedback from individuals and organisations will help shape a draft Master Plan which will be subject to further consultation next spring.
Currently the ninth busiest airport in the UK, and the fifth largest outside London, Bristol Airport saw passenger numbers grow by more than 10 per cent in 2016, and will serve more than eight million passengers this year. Existing planning permission is already in place for facilities to handle up to ten million passengers a year, but this capacity is expected to be reached early in the next decade as demand for air travel to and from the South West of the UK continues to rise.
The consultation document, ‘Your airport: your views’, identifies five pillars which will guide the airport’s new Master Plan in order to meet the challenges and opportunities that emerging trends are expected to present aviation with in the future. These guiding principles are:
- A world-leading regional airport
- Creating employment and supporting economic growth
- Providing an integrated transport hub
- Taking a sustainable approach
- Ensuring proposals are flexible enough to be delivered in phases over time, and deliver value for money for passengers, airlines and other stakeholders.
A number of design considerations influencing land use are examined, and three example scenarios showing indicative site layouts provide potential ways the airport could meet projected future demand.
Local communities, stakeholders, passengers and the public are invited to find out more and provide feedback online. Bristol Airport will hold a series of drop-in consultation events in local communities across the West of England for those wishing to speak to members of the airport management team first hand. Full details of the consultation, including dates and venues for the drop-in events, can be found by visiting www.bristolairport.co.uk/future.