Southampton Airport runway extension approved

Controversial plans to extend the runway at Southampton Airport have been agreed following a 19-hour debate.

Airport bosses want to extend the runway by 164m (538ft) to allow longer-haul flights, which they say will create more than 1,000 jobs.

But campaigners have described it as a "bleak day" and have vowed to fight on.

The decision was made by Eastleigh Borough Council's full council after the plans were rejected by the local area committee.

The meeting, which started on Thursday, concluded with a vote during the early hours of Saturday.

Twenty-two councillors voted in favour, with 13 against and one abstention.

Hundreds of people watched the debate, which was held online because of coronavirus restrictions.

A statement from campaign group Airport Expansion Opposition said: "Today's decision is by no means the end of the matter. It is completely wrong, not only in principle but also in the way it was reached.

"We shall be taking advice as to our options for future action."

In normal times, such a decision would have been taken in a council chamber with dozens of residents and councillors.

It's also quite likely we would have seen campaigners demonstrating outside.

But these are not normal times and the debate over these controversial plans was held online.

Hundreds of residents were glued to the screens of their laptops to listen to both sides of the argument.

More than 200 people had registered to speak at the meeting and councillors spent hours listening to them and watching pre-recorded videos that were sent in.

We probably did not get the buzzing atmosphere of a face-to-face debate and we certainly did not see how tired everyone looked when discussions were still ongoing after midnight.

We don't know whether councils will continue to broadcast meetings when we get back to normal.

But we know that we got quite used to this new normal and to council officers saying, "councillor you are on mute".

Airport bosses argued the runway extension was "vital" for the site's future but campaigners and some local authorities raised objections over noise and pollution.

Planning officers had recommended to approve the expansion.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said the number of people affected by noise would go from 11,450 in 2020 to 46,050 in 2033, if the expansion went ahead.

But officers said the impacts would be mitigated by the installation of sound insulation and a limit of three million passengers a year.

They said the expansion would create more than 1,000 jobs, boost the local economy and result in a £15m investment.

Broadcaster and environmental campaigner Chris Packham was among those opposed to the plans.

Ahead of last month's meeting, he said: "It's a very plain decision. We either change our minds at this point or we forsake our future and that of our children and grandchildren."

The expansion was officially proposed in 2019 and since then there have been four public consultations.

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