Belfast City Airport expansion plans: residents call for full Public Inquiry

Belfast City Airport Watch says proposed changes could lead to substantially more flights, increased early-morning and late-evening noise, and greater disturbance for communities surrounding the airport.

Belfast City Airport Watch, representing 10 residents’ associations and 746 individual members, announced today that it intends to object to the proposed planning application by Belfast City Airport and is calling for a full Public Inquiry before any decision is taken.

The Airport has submitted a Planning Application Notice in connection with its proposals to Belfast City Council and Ards and North Down Borough Council.

Belfast City Airport Watch believes the proposals, if ultimately approved, would overturn important protections contained in the Planning Agreement signed as recently as 2019.

That agreement sought to strike a balance between the commercial ambitions of the Airport and the need to protect the environment, public health and the quality of life of people living in the densely populated communities surrounding it.

Belfast City Airport Watch is particularly concerned about the potential impact of additional aircraft noise and sleep disturbance.

If the proposals are approved, residents could face many more flights between 6.30am and 8.00am and after 9.30pm, periods when aircraft noise can have a particularly significant effect on people at home.

The proposals could also result in nearly twice as many flights overall, substantially increasing the Airport’s potential capacity and the impact of its operations on surrounding communities.

Belfast City Airport Watch believes changes of this scale should not be determined without a comprehensive and independent examination of their wider consequences.

A full Public Inquiry should consider whether the additional airport capacity is genuinely required; the potential effects on public health, sleep, noise levels and the environment; and whether any additional aviation capacity could be provided elsewhere with less risk of harm to health, communities and the environment.

Belfast City Airport Watch said:

“This is not simply a question about the future of an airport. It is about striking the right balance between aviation growth and the health, environment and quality of life of the large number of people who live around Belfast City Airport.

“The existing Planning Agreement was reached as recently as 2019. Any proposal which could fundamentally alter that balance and permit substantially more flights deserves the highest level of public scrutiny.

“We are therefore calling for a full Public Inquiry so that the need for this additional capacity, its consequences for surrounding communities and the availability of alternatives can be examined openly and independently.”

Belfast City Airport Watch will be encouraging residents, elected representatives and other interested parties to examine the proposals carefully and participate in the planning process.