The government has been accused of “trashing” local democracy after overruling a council decision and approving the expansion of Bristol airport. An application by the airport to expand its capacity from 10 million to 12 million passengers a year was refused by North Somerset council at the beginning of 2021, but after the airport appealed, central government planners overturned the decision. Three inspectors from the Planning Inspectorate conceded there remained “a significant level of opposition” to the plan and that their ruling would be “a major disappointment” to some. “In coming to our decision, the protests of individuals, communities, members of parliament, action groups, technical experts and others were fully heard and carefully considered by the panel,” the inspectors said. But they dismissed environmental effects, including on the climate, air quality, biodiversity and the character of the surrounding Mendip Hills, recognised as an area of outstanding natural beauty, as “neutral in the balance” of their decision-making. Campaigners have waged a three-year battle to try to block the airport expansion and had won the support of all local authorities in the area as well as most local MPs. Steve Clarke, of the Bristol Airport Action Network, said the inspectors’ report was “completely trashing any idea of local democracy being important in this instance”. He said: “This has completely ignored local decision-making … It completely ignores any impact it’s going to have on the climate.” Activists have calculated that the expansion would lead to an extra 1m tons of carbon emissions every year. The leader of North Somerset council, Don Davies, was quoted by Bristol 24/7 as saying: “This simply flies in the face of local democracy and disregards the views of the local communities who fought equally hard to resist the expansion.” The Avon and Bristol branch of CPRE, the Countryside Charity, said it was “devastated” by the decision. “The decision tramples on local democracy, makes a mockery of the UK’s Cop26 commitments and sets a precedent for other airport expansion plans,” it tweeted. Bristol airport is owned by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. As well as an increase in flight quotas, the planning permission allows the airport to expand roads leading to the site, extend terminal buildings and build a new car park on land designated as green belt. On Thursday the airport published statements from local business groups backing the expansion. John Mayer, the local lead for the Federation of Small Businesses, said it would send a “strong signal that our region will continue to welcome trade, tourism, and investment from overseas”. Dave Lees, the chief executive of Bristol airport, said: “The decision is excellent news for our region’s economy, allowing us to create thousands of new jobs in the years ahead and provide more choice for our customers.”