Look who has crawled out from under his stone

Angry wrote:

an airlink would open up doors where a train link wont. Exeter has an airport which has done wonders for the area and there is no need for another like it in plymouth which is fine but a skeleton airport would be an advantage for this city.

No Angers it wouldn't, airports don't create demand they service demand, you weren't a town planner in a previous life were you?

To improve my drive to Plymouth there would need to be a viable alternative to the M4 M5 route so the A303 needs upgrading but no where near the Plymouth end. Or the M25/M4 needs sorting together with the M4/M5 being denuded of grokels or improved (I know one REAL super fan is very all Jeremy Clarkson about caravans so perhaps Webb can campaign against those as well). Never had much of a problem on the home stretch into Plymouth. So what is actually being suggested by this campaign?

And I'd like to here about what is being suggested for the railways? If you what to get into London and for that matter into Plymouth in time for an early meeting it's very possible. How much time can be cut off the journey? I know bits of the mainline being pictured hanging over the sea looks awful but it'll be fixed in 6 weeks.

ejh wrote:

greensleeves wrote:

somebody needs to bang the drum,why not Chris Webb. The A 38 urgently needs upgrading to motorway standard. Every week there are numerous accidents as reported in the herald.

Because he is not an MP and he represents no-one.

He is currently passing a petition around begging for people to represent, in my opinion, so he can storm around the city with a bit of gusto.

The standard procedure is that on matters of local to regional infrastructure, involving decision making at national offices, you need your MPs on board. That is their job, they are our ELECTED representatives. That's why they have offices, contacts and staff in Westminster, experience of campaigns, experience of getting answers and getting things underway.

So why is this the Chris Webb show? Why has he not initiated a campaign inviting support of his representatives, that might genuinely get somewhere?

Rickler nailed it in a wunner.

and he was quite like a church mouse in the paper over the royal mail thing other than him accussing the tory mp of refusing to meet him to which he got totally owned in response.

Lord Tisdale wrote:

Tgwu wrote:

How can Newquay run  a airport and not Plymouth

They can't, the airport is just a publicly funded relic of the cold war and requires huge subsidies to function at all.

Spot on Tiddles... although it won't be long before that subsidy has finally gone. There has been a lot of conjecture about it recently.  I don't really think there is a call for an airport in Plymouth. 50 to 100 passengers a day is all that were using it for years. A good friend of mine worked there almost until it's last days. Just how many airports is there a need for that can't  pay for themselves. Why should they be any different than the bus services ?
St Just makes a good job of it's airport though.   Out finances the mighty BA or any other company that has tried to run an air service to the Scillies.
So does the Scillonian, but that's another story.
As for the A38, it functions fine and handles the capacity with ease, and is just as quick as the M%, probably quicker.

Winter Green wrote:

Lord Tisdale wrote:

Tgwu wrote:

How can Newquay run  a airport and not Plymouth

They can't, the airport is just a publicly funded relic of the cold war and requires huge subsidies to function at all.

Spot on Tiddles... although it won't be long before that subsidy has finally gone. There has been a lot of conjecture about it recently.  I don't really think there is a call for an airport in Plymouth. 50 to 100 passengers a day is all that were using it for years. A good friend of mine worked there almost until it's last days. Just how many airports is there a need for that can't  pay for themselves. Why should they be any different than the bus services ?
St Just makes a good job of it's airport though.   Out finances the mighty BA or any other company that has tried to run an air service to the Scillies.
So does the Scillonian, but that's another story.
As for the A38, it functions fine and handles the capacity with ease, and is just as quick as the M%, probably quicker.

bus service what century you living in lol one of the worse forms of transport there is.

Angry wrote:

Lord Tisdale wrote:

Tgwu wrote:

How can Newquay run  a airport and not Plymouth

They can't, the airport is just a publicly funded relic of the cold war and requires huge subsidies to function at all.

its pretty much mothballed now the raf have all but left there.

I've half a notion the runway is actually far longer than Heathrow's and even if it isn't the RAF left behind a fully operational airport that fully meets all international requirements. It is also heavily subsidised by Cornwall County Council.

What it needs to be successful is a direct link to Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Glasgow etc so that it can operate as a mini-hub because if you can't fly to London there's little point in there being an airport at all.

Sir Francis Drake wrote:

Angry wrote:

Lord Tisdale wrote:

Tgwu wrote:

How can Newquay run  a airport and not Plymouth

They can't, the airport is just a publicly funded relic of the cold war and requires huge subsidies to function at all.

its pretty much mothballed now the raf have all but left there.

I've half a notion the runway is actually far longer than Heathrow's and even if it isn't the RAF left behind a fully operational airport that fully meets all international requirements. It is also heavily subsidised by Cornwall County Council.

What it needs to be successful is a direct link to Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Glasgow etc so that it can operate as a mini-hub because if you can't fly to London there's little point in there being an airport at all.

You are spot on Franny except St.Maw does have a Gatwick flight, for the time being, whereas Exeter doesn't, now hit that with a stick.

Sir Francis Drake wrote:

Angry wrote:

Lord Tisdale wrote:

Tgwu wrote:

How can Newquay run  a airport and not Plymouth

They can't, the airport is just a publicly funded relic of the cold war and requires huge subsidies to function at all.

its pretty much mothballed now the raf have all but left there.

I've half a notion the runway is actually far longer than Heathrow's and even if it isn't the RAF left behind a fully operational airport that fully meets all international requirements. It is also heavily subsidised by Cornwall County Council.

What it needs to be successful is a direct link to Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Glasgow etc so that it can operate as a mini-hub because if you can't fly to London there's little point in there being an airport at all.

the airport is going http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-22638983

greensleeves wrote:

somebody needs to bang the drum,why not Chris Webb. The A 38 urgently needs upgrading to motorway standard. Every week there are numerous accidents as reported in the herald.

Its an ''A'' road so tractors can travel on it!!!

I'm searching in vain for The Clubs President petition demanding that James Brent recognises the peoples raised Trust rather than the Brent birthed PASB

Dane. wrote:

greensleeves wrote:

somebody needs to bang the drum,why not Chris Webb. The A 38 urgently needs upgrading to motorway standard. Every week there are numerous accidents as reported in the herald.

Its an ''A'' road so tractors can travel on it!!!

never any accidents on motorways are there?

Lord Tisdale wrote:

Angry wrote:

an airlink would open up doors where a train link wont. Exeter has an airport which has done wonders for the area and there is no need for another like it in plymouth which is fine but a skeleton airport would be an advantage for this city.

No Angers it wouldn't, airports don't create demand they service demand, you weren't a town planner in a previous life were you?

where you? have you even been to plymouth enough to comment on its issues?

Angry wrote:

bus service ? what century you living in lol one of the worse forms of transport there is.

My point was if there is no money to subsidise the transport of the ordinary citizen from A to B to get food to eat, why should there be public money to subsidise a loss making airport that is used mainly by companies that have more money than you can shake a stick at.
Here's a thought. How about these people holding their meetings online, and maybe, just maybe, could see their way clear to living a little nearer to where they work. The whole system is unsustainable.
I for one would be delighted if many of these multi nationals and franchises and their ever so hard pressed travelling managers can't get a plane down here. I would be delighted if the likes of Costa and their cheap coffee and poor wages take a hike, give us a miss, and let the locals run their own businesses. I was no fan of Edmund and his restaurants in Plymouth, but he certainly had a point when he stated local business finds it hard to compete with the economies of scale of these companies.
But in a word, yes, get a bus if need be. They get there. More than the air service is.. and probably quicker. The A38 is quite big enough. The last thing people want down here is even faster transport times to put up the second home and house prices even more. Understand what is of benefit to the people that live here. Running your own shop for instance or stacking shelves for Tesco for a pittance. That's the choice in the end.

Angry wrote:

Lord Tisdale wrote:

Angry wrote:

an airlink would open up doors where a train link wont. Exeter has an airport which has done wonders for the area and there is no need for another like it in plymouth which is fine but a skeleton airport would be an advantage for this city.

No Angers it wouldn't, airports don't create demand they service demand, you weren't a town planner in a previous life were you?

where you? have you even been to plymouth enough to comment on its issues?

"where you ?"?

Did you mean, were you?

If so then no, I worked for a living, I also know a little something about the interactions between business and infrastructure.

The old guy is correct that the last thing business looks for when deciding where to set up is an airport, nobody moves anything by air, it's just too damned expensive, the airport would only become an issue when there was enough business to necessitate the movement of a lot of people from a long way away. Airports do not drive development, if they did Spain would be the most dynamic economy in Europe.

Just for information, Flybe has in the last few days increased the number of daily flights to Gatwick from 2 to 6. Also Newquay does have a link to Manchester.

EasyJet are due to start a route to/from London Southend this summer too. No sign of any mothballing just yet.

The Airport has funding from CC to cover the losses, and passengers are required to pay a £5 "Development Fee".
Overall facilities at Newquay Cornwall are good, and has been heavily modernised in recent years.

The question is whether getting rid of the development fee would increase passengers and encourage operators to offer more flights.

Either way, I would suggest the airport brings in a net benefit to the economy, even taking into account CC funding the losses.

Winter Green wrote:

Angry wrote:

bus service ? what century you living in lol one of the worse forms of transport there is.

My point was if there is no money to subsidise the transport of the ordinary citizen from A to B to get food to eat, why should there be public money to subsidise a loss making airport that is used mainly by companies that have more money than you can shake a stick at.
Here's a thought. How about these people holding their meetings online, and maybe, just maybe, could see their way clear to living a little nearer to where they work. The whole system is unsustainable.
I for one would be delighted if many of these multi nationals and franchises and their ever so hard pressed travelling managers can't get a plane down here. I would be delighted if the likes of Costa and their cheap coffee and poor wages take a hike, give us a miss, and let the locals run their own businesses. I was no fan of Edmund and his restaurants in Plymouth, but he certainly had a point when he stated local business finds it hard to compete with the economies of scale of these companies.
But in a word, yes, get a bus if need be. They get there. More than the air service is.. and probably quicker. The A38 is quite big enough. The last thing people want down here is even faster transport times to put up the second home and house prices even more. Understand what is of benefit to the people that live here. Running your own shop for instance or stacking shelves for Tesco for a pittance. That's the choice in the end.

The reason plymouth is a backwater with yokels in the council more interested in pr campaigns that hilarious and do nothing for the city is because the city is cut off from everything. Exeter is growing because its opened its doors have many different forms of transport readliy available for people to use including 3 train stations (not including sid james one as no one cares about exeter city) an international airport, access to the motorway and bus/coach links to everywhere. What has plymouth got? a run down train station, a run down coach service, no airlinks, no motorway access although thats not really Plymouth's fault but in short its not attractive to anyone wanting to commute or base themselves here. Hence way we struggle to attract players here and businesses arent really interested in the treck down here when its a ballache and thats just dealing with the council.

Loads of happy memories as a kid flying to Jersey to visit family. It's a travesty that the airport closed. Yes there'd always probably be a struggle to make it economically viable. But if there was one thing I'd be happy to add 'x' amount of £'s to my council tax to subsidize, it'd be Plymouth City Airport.

I accept I'm probably in a sizeable minority tho.   

Angry wrote:

Sir Francis Drake wrote:

Angry wrote:

Lord Tisdale wrote:

Tgwu wrote:

How can Newquay run  a airport and not Plymouth

They can't, the airport is just a publicly funded relic of the cold war and requires huge subsidies to function at all.

its pretty much mothballed now the raf have all but left there.

I've half a notion the runway is actually far longer than Heathrow's and even if it isn't the RAF left behind a fully operational airport that fully meets all international requirements. It is also heavily subsidised by Cornwall County Council.

What it needs to be successful is a direct link to Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Glasgow etc so that it can operate as a mini-hub because if you can't fly to London there's little point in there being an airport at all.

the airport is going http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-22638983

From May last year!  

Czarcasm wrote:

Loads of happy memories as a kid flying to Jersey to visit family. It's a travesty that the airport closed. Yes there'd always probably be a struggle to make it economically viable. But if there was one thing I'd be happy to add 'x' amount of £'s to my council tax to subsidize, it'd be Plymouth City Airport.

I accept I'm probably in a sizeable minority tho.   

Not so much of a travesty for those that live in derriford. they campaigned for the closure

Hugh Watt wrote:

Angry wrote:

Sir Francis Drake wrote:

Angry wrote:

Lord Tisdale wrote:

Tgwu wrote:

How can Newquay run  a airport and not Plymouth

They can't, the airport is just a publicly funded relic of the cold war and requires huge subsidies to function at all.

its pretty much mothballed now the raf have all but left there.

I've half a notion the runway is actually far longer than Heathrow's and even if it isn't the RAF left behind a fully operational airport that fully meets all international requirements. It is also heavily subsidised by Cornwall County Council.

What it needs to be successful is a direct link to Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Glasgow etc so that it can operate as a mini-hub because if you can't fly to London there's little point in there being an airport at all.

the airport is going http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-22638983

From May last year!  

due to end march 2014 do read the article dear hugh  

One thing I'm surprised about is that Mr Webb hasn't mentioned this before for all the rail journeying he seems to do.

I suppose being regularly bumped up to first class eases the pain and dulls the senses somewhat.

ps Don't think the campaign is going to be aided by the REAL mate and super fan who is tweeting this account https://twitter.com/David_CAMER00N

Dougie wrote:

ps Don't think the campaign is going to be aided by the REAL mate and super fan who is tweeting this account https://twitter.com/David_CAMER00N

Please tell me Newell doesn't think that is the real David Cameron?!

Yea Man wrote:

Dougie wrote:

ps Don't think the campaign is going to be aided by the REAL mate and super fan who is tweeting this account https://twitter.com/David_CAMER00N

Please tell me Newell doesn't think that is the real David Cameron?!

Looks like it maybe

Which band wagoner can stand in the deepest flood water? competition