CAMPAIGNERS have voiced their concerns over the potential loss of more than 80 acres of green belt land could be lost to Bristol Airport expansion plans.

Bristol Tree Forum (BTF) is a volunteer group that aims to encourage community engagement in urban tree management decisions and work to increase tree canopy cover across the city.

Concerns has been raised as Bristol Airport launches a consultation on the expansion plans, with BTF expressing concern that biodiversity could be negatively impacted in the area.

In March 2023, Bristol Airport was granted permission to expand its capacity to 12million passengers annually, but it now want to expand further to accommodate 15 million.

Expansion plans have been met with strong opposition by environmental groups who wish to protect the green belt in the areas surrounding the airport, with a four year legal battle having ensued over the prior expansion plans for 12million passengers.

BTF said in a press statement: “This plan would result in the disappearance of 33 hectares of green belt, as tarmac is laid for yet more car parks, an excellent source of revenue for airports. Has the airport considered increasing parking capacity by making its existing car parks multi-story?”

“These new parking areas are full of habitats vital for nature - broad-leaved woodland and scattered trees, species-rich native hedgerows and grasslands, tall vegetation, scrub habitats, standing open water and ponds.

“We welcome the proposal to form a biodiversity steering group whose purpose would be to discuss and agree key aspects of the approach to minimising potential effects on biodiversity.”

Discussing the expansion’s impact on the landscape, Bristol Airport says on its website: “The proposals will require the development of land that is currently open fields to the north of the airfield and west of the terminal. Additional fields to the south of the airfield are proposed to be developed for car parking.”

Bristol Airport Action Network (BAAN) members recently spoke out against the latest plan, claiming the proposals are premature because the impact of the latest expansion has not been measured.

A Bristol Airport spokesperson said in response: “We are working on an airport masterplan to 2040 setting out future infrastructure development to meet the strong and growing demand of people in our region using Bristol Airport.

“There are now more than 10 million passengers a year choosing to use Bristol Airport, providing over 5,000 local jobs and contributing £2billion to the regional economy every year. Our masterplan to 2040 will look at expected passenger growth beyond the current allowance of 12million passengers per annum.

“We’re continuously investing in improvements to meet current demand, with our new multimillion pound public transport interchange currently under construction. We are also working towards our net zero operations 2030 target and are committed to working with partners on aviation decarbonisation. 

 “The masterplan will look at what further development might be required to meet the growing demand for air travel and we’d welcome input from people.”