About Us

The Parish Councils Airport Association (PCAA) was founded in 1971 in order to provide a forum where affected Parishes could discuss all areas of airport operations that were having an adverse impact on communities in the South West of England.  It was originally called the Parish Councils (Airport) Committee and representatives from 8 Parish Councils attended the inaugral meeting to discuss concerns around Bristol Airport operations, extension plans and aircraft noise (particularly at night).  Since 1971 the Association membership has grown to 26 Parish Councils and 2 Town Councils today, and is run by volunteer representatives from the member Councils. 

A full list of member councils can be found here.

The PCAA works closely with other organisations, such as Bristiol Airport Action Network (BAAN), to scrutinise activities by Bristol Airport Limited (BAL) and other operators which affect the surrounding Parishes and Towns.

A full copy of the PCAA Aims and Objectives can be found here.

Bristol Airport has the ultimate aim to expand to 20 million passengers per annum (mppa), which is twice the current number of passengers.  This is extremely concerning given the impact it will have on neighbouring parishes in terms of traffic, parking, noise and emissions.

The PCAA has members with expert knowledge who take the lead in the following areas:

Planning;  Airport related noise; Net Zero/Climate Change/Airport Emissions; Parking and the Green Belt; Air Space Modernisation; and Biodiversity.  Members also sit on a number of other groups including the Airport Consultative Committee, allowing the PCAA to directly question BAL on it's activities and operations on behalf of member Councils.

The PCAA alerts all member councils to planning applications, not just for the airport but those related to it such as parking and hotels etc, issues regarding the North Somerset Local Plan, general aviation matters including increased flight routes, and airport-related traffic problems. The PCAA also responds to planning applications and airport-related consultations on behalf of member Councils, and assists member Councils to establish whether they wish to also make a response.

The volunteers on the PCAA have significant knowledge and experience in matters relating to the airport, and work on behalf of hard-pressed parish councils who don't have the experience or capacity to directly engage with the airport.   These specialisms are focused in a number of Special Interest Groups, and more information about these groups can be found here.