It is the most controversial plan in the region for yearsBristol Airport protest BAAN
The West of England metro mayor has refused to say what she thinks about the proposal to expand Bristol Airport for the second time this decade – and said she is so worried about impacting the planning process that she is not even taking notice of any of the arguments for or against.
Metro mayor Helen Godwin told Bristol Live that even though it is one of the biggest planning decisions in the Bristol area for years, she will not engage in the debate – because there is a possibility it could be her that makes the final decision.
That contrasts dramatically with her predecessor, former metro mayor Dan Norris, who publicly opposed the first plan to expand Bristol Airport.
The Airport eventually won permission to go from a capacity of nine million passengers a year to 12 million after a series of appeals and legal challenges in the courts between the airport and locals and environmental campaigners who were opposing the expansion.
Before the work to expand the capacity at the airport was even completed, airport bosses announced they wanted to expand again – this time to a capacity of 15 million passengers a year, with a longer runway, bigger terminal buildings, flights to North America and the Middle East and controversially expanding into the ancient Felton Common, on the other side of the A38.
The Save Felton Common Group.(Image: Save Felton Common Group)
This time around, there’s a different metro mayor – and with new Prime Minister Andy Burnham committed to devolving power and responsibility to regional metro mayors, Helen Godwin has told Bristol Live that it could well be her who ends up making the decision.
The plans have been submitted by the airport to North Somerset Council, and councillors on its planning committee will take the first decision on whether or not to grant the scheme planning permission.
Whatever the decision it almost certainly won’t end there. If given permission, it’s likely that the Bristol Airport Action Network – a coalition of local residents and environmentalists – will challenge any permission.
If it is refused by local councillors, Bristol Airport will almost certainly appeal. Last time, North Somerset Council refused permission, the airport appealed and the decision was made after a lengthy public inquiry by a Government planning inspector and the Secretary of State for Local Government.
(Image: PAUL GILLIS / Reach PLC)
The Government is looking at devolving power to regions and metro mayors, and control of the Planning Inspectorate could well be one of those jobs – in theory leaving West of England metro mayor Helen Godwin with any decision on the airport.
“There is going to be more planning powers potentially coming to the mayors,” said Helen Godwin, defending her decision to stay silent on Bristol Airport’s expansion plans.
“We don’t know when that is and we don’t know what that looks like yet. But it might well be that rather than call-in powers to the Secretary of State – the airport first time round that ended up going to the Secretary of State – might well come to us,” she told Bristol Live.
“And it might be that then I have to make that decision, which is why I have taken a view of not commenting,” she added.
Ms Godwin’s view is that any public comment now could disqualify her from making that decision, or lead to one side or the other being able to successfully appeal against whatever decision she did make, because it could be shown she had a view from the start.
(Image: Getty Images)
She told Bristol Live she was protecting local councils – and taxpayers within the West of England – from any unnecessary costs if appeals are lost.
“It is the same with any big planning schemes,” she said. “What I wouldn’t want to do is say something to you and then it comes to me and that would instantly prejudice my decision,” she added.
“The reality is that when planning applications are turned down and then appealed, quite often the councils end up footing the bill for it, and often it is an enormous amount of money sometimes. I don’t think any of my council colleagues would appreciate me putting them into that situation, so that is the decision that I have taken,” she added.
“I think people are understanding that. I understand why people might be frustrated by it, but I just don’t want that to be the situation we are in, in maybe a year to 18 months time. To the point of trying to keep my nose clean, I don’t even know what that feels like in North Somerset at the moment, how likely it is to go ahead. It’s good to keep me away from it,” she added.
A CGI image of the immigration hall, issued by Bristol Airport as it announces expansion plans, March 2026(Image: Bristol Airport)
North Somerset is not yet within the West of England Combined Authority, although by the time any decision on Bristol Airport is made and then appealed, it will be – the area will join WECA at the start of 2027.
Helen Godwin’s term as West of England metro mayor runs to 2029, which looks set to lead to a situation where the metro mayor potentially makes a decision about a plan in North Somerset – where voters weren’t part of the process in 2025 to elect her.
However, a counter argument to that is that appeals are already decided by a politician no one locally has voted for – a Government planning minister who could well represent a constituency on the other side of the country.
Images released by the West of England Metro Mayor Helen Godwin showing how a mass transit system could look, with trams at Bristol Airport.(Image: PAUL GILLIS / Reach Plc)
Campaigners fighting the Bristol Airport expansion have also expressed reservations about the metro mayor being given those new powers to decide over strategic applications or appeals like this.
Even though the metro mayor has steadfastly refused to get involved in the Bristol Airport expansion debate, she is involved already – because of her ambitions to see a mass rapid transit system that would first connect the airport to Bristol city centre – something more likely to be justified with Government funding if the airport was bigger.