On a chilly evening in mid-December 2019, and following a short publicity campaign of flyers and posters attached to telegraph poles, a group of people from villages surrounding Bristol Airport met to discuss the Airport’s application to North Somerset Council to expand by 50%. The organisers expected perhaps a dozen people to attend the event in Redhill village hall. In fact nearly 100 people came from Butcombe, Felton, Winford, Regil, Redhill, Wrington, Lower Langford and Blagdon.
The strength of feeling was clear – a tide of anger and frustration that the Airport, instructed by its Canadian owners, has embarked on predatory expansion at the expense of the health and well-being of neighbouring communities and the wider region.
So the Stop Bristol Airport Expansion alliance was formed. It now includes strong links with regional organisations including North Somerset Parish Councils, the Zero Carbon North Somerset, the Somerset Campaign for the Protection of Rural England, the North Somerset and Bristol Green Parties, Bristol Friends of the Earth, Bristol Clean Air Alliance, My World, My Home students, Medact Bristol (health workers), Extinction Rebellion in Bristol, the Chew Valley and Weston, and various Airport opposition groups across the UK and Europe.
SBAEx IS A GLOCAL (both global and local) CAMPAIGN: it aims to minimise the harmful impact of Bristol Airport on regional communities and the environment, taking local action against the Airport’s unsustainable operation plans as part of the global movement to mitigate the climate emergency.
SBAEx has a flat and flexible organisation structure consisting of an advisory group, with specialist skills and knowledge, and campaign groups of individuals who come together around specific actions and issues. If you’d like to get involved in some way…
Please get in touch if you have the time, skills and inclination to contribute in these areas or in other ways. Just an hour or two a week individually or in small groups can make all the difference. Please contact StopBAex@gmail.com.
Contact details
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stopbristolairportexpansion/
Website: www.stopbristolairportexpansion.org
Email: stopbaex@gmail.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/StopBrisAirport
The website carries regular updates, comment and information including:
– a guide to the impact of Airport expansion links for all (‘Why Oppose Airport Expansion’)
– ‘Fact Sheets’ with background information and evidence;
– ‘Updates’ section exploring current issues in detail;
– ‘Take Action’,: everything you need to know ….
Please visit the site, comment and share items of interest www.stopbristolairportexpansion.org
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