An Eastleigh Borough Council (EBC) committee has voted against the airport's plans to extend its runway after nearly 17 hours of debate – so now the decision will be decided by all Eastleigh councillors at a special full council meeting called for April 8.
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As reported, a decision had been expected from Eastleigh's Local Area Committee on Thursday evening (March 25), but having listened to views from both sides and discussed the issue from 10am until midnight, that meeting was finally adjourned until Friday evening.
Thursday's session closed with a cliffhanger, at that point with two members of the eight-member panel made up of Eastleigh Lib Dem councillors indicating they'd vote against the plans, and one in favour.
But there was a wait until around 8.30pm on Friday to hear the final decision, with five of the committee members voting against the plans and three in favour.
5 against and 3 for the airport runway application, so it's refused. But it now goes to full council on April 8 "because matter of borough-wide significance"
— bitternepark.info (@bitternepark) March 26, 2021
This is how councillors voted:
— Maria G Zaccaro (@MariaG_Zaccaro) March 26, 2021
Cllr Bicknell: for
Cllr Bourne: for
Cllr Campbell: against
Cllr Clarke: against
Cllr Doguie: against
Cllr Irish: against
Cllr Mann: for
Cllr Tyson-Payne: against
Committee chair Cllr Tina Campbell then explained that the issue would have to go to a specially convened meeting of the full council on April 8 because it's of "borough-wide significance".
You can see her conclusion in the video clip below.
Eastleigh councillors have tonight rejected plans to expand #southamptonairport. The decision by the eight members of the local area committee saw 5 against 3 in favour, but will now go to full council, as the chair explained to councillors and 300 in the virtual public gallery pic.twitter.com/x1tK6YtWg2
— Peter Henley (@Peter_Henley) March 26, 2021
Eastleigh Borough Council confirmed after the meeting:
"A majority of Eastleigh Local Area Committee Councillors voted five to three against the recommendation, and in line with Council procedure when applications have a significant borough wide impact, the planning application will now be referred to Full Council to determine.
"A special meeting of Full Council will now take place on Thursday 8 April. Details of this meeting will appear on our website shortly."
Eastleigh Local Area Committee voted to NOT support the recommendation to permit the application to extend the runway at Southampton Airport https://t.co/MjLkSVOubF @EastleighBC
— Eastleigh Borough Council (@EastleighBC) March 26, 2021
Following the meeting, campaign group AXO tweeted:
"Just wow Thank you so much everyone who made their feelings known and especially those brave Councillors who chose to go against the officer recommendation. The tide is turning".
Wow. 3 Councillors on Eastleigh Local Area Committee voted FOR the airport expansion and
— axosou (@axosoton) March 26, 2021
5 AGAINST
Just wow
Thank you so much everyone who made their feelings known and especially those brave Councillors who chose to go against the officer recommendation.
The tide is turning
Tweeting on Saturday, umbrella network AirportWatch noted nearby local authorities that had objected, including Southampton, Winchester and Test Valley "due to noise and climate change", and noted in a blog that naturalist Chris Packham had also objected: he'd sent a recorded message to the meeting urging councillors to reject the scheme.
Southampton Airport runway decision put back to 8th April after rejection by Eastleigh’s Local Area Committee https://t.co/1UemiEA8x4 Many local authorities, including Southampton and Winchester city councils, Test Valley Borough Council objected due to noise and climate change.
— AirportWatch (@AirportWatch) March 27, 2021
Paul Holmes, MP for Eastleigh (Con) however described it as a "devastating result" and said it was a "huge blow" to his constituents.
He tweeted he will "work tirelessly" to reach what he described as "the right outcome".
Devastating result. @SOU_Airport extension rejected. The Council need to overturn this decision. If they do not they will be voting to close Southampton Airport. A huge blow to my constituents and I’ll work tirelessly to reach the right outcome. Time for less talk, more action.
— Paul Holmes MP (@pauljholmes) March 26, 2021
Steve Szalay, operations director of Southampton Airport, said in a statement following the meeting that he hoped the full council would listen to what he claimed is "the will of the people":
"Naturally, we are very disappointed with the lack of support from the Eastleigh Local Area Committee (ELAC).
"The committee did not support the recommendations of the planning officer and in doing so it has gone against the majority of Eastleigh residents who expressed their support during the consultation as well as the local business community.
"However, this is far from over. We now welcome the opportunity to present our plans to the full Council on 8 April."
"We hope they will listen to the will of the people, the local business community and their own planning team and make the right decision for the future of the airport and seize the opportunity to create thousands of much needed jobs."
• If you missed it first time round, or you feel like you'd like to relive the highlights of the almost 17-hour marathon, you can watch recordings on YouTube: links to each section of the meeting are at the bottom of this EBC page.
In the news
You can read the BBC report of the meeting here, and the Daily Echo's, by the Local Democracy Reporter, here.