Hundreds of Common folk make their feelings felt!

I

t was fantastic to see so many people out in the Spring sunshine on Sunday to see the mock-up of BA's landing light proposal.  We estimate that around 300 people arrived on the day.

Our volunteers worked hard to plan the event and create something that would give everyone a realistic representation of the extent and size of this construction that would change our common forever (although we had to imagine what it would look like on darker days or at night when the lights would be blazing and visible across the surrounding countryside and further afield e.g. Dundry and the Mendips).

People (even the organisers) were shocked to see just how big and obtrusive the installation would be, how much space would be taken up, how far across the currently uninterrupted grassland area they would stretch and how the line of seven separately fenced lighting arrays, each 30 meters apart, would effectively cut the common in half. The height of the lights was daunting, increasing up to 8 meters, they dwarfed anyone standing near them and made it impossible to ignore them.

The overall effect turns the common from a rural landscape to an industrial one.

If people are taken in by BA’s CEO Dave Lees saying they are “engaging with the local community” about the lights, could we reply by saying what engagement can there be when we have clearly said NO?  His dismissive comment that “99.87%” of the common would remain accessible is naïve and ignorant. Does he think we are stupid? It is not only accessibility that is important to us, but the intrinsic aspect and naturalness of the land itself and its conservation for future generations.

Felton Common is OUR Land NOT theirs.

BRISTOL AIRPORT IS BIG ENOUGH AS IT IS.

Say No to landing lights on Felton Common and encourage your family, friends and neighbours to do the same!

As I write, we have just heard that the Planning Application has gone live on North Somerset Council’s website. This means we have a count-down of six weeks to submit objections.

WATCH THIS SPACE for more information, and do write in with ideas or questions.