Airport

Lord Tisdale wrote:

Tgwu wrote:

Lord Tisdale wrote:

Tgwu wrote:

I going to Spain £140 from Bristol with one cabin case and a carry on bag,  £357 from Exe with one cabin bag, this is for two. Parking is cheaper. Even Bournemouth is cheaper by a long way.

Fecking poor people.

Nobody looks after us OAP's

Angry wants us kicked off bus now.

What's a bus?

Those shite small efforts running around on your pedestrian precinct

Angry wrote:

Tgwu wrote:

Lord Tisdale wrote:

Tgwu wrote:

I going to Spain £140 from Bristol with one cabin case and a carry on bag,  £357 from Exe with one cabin bag, this is for two. Parking is cheaper. Even Bournemouth is cheaper by a long way.

Fecking poor people.

Nobody looks after us OAP's

Angry wants us kicked off bus now.

too right walk more or catch it when the journey is far and not round the corner slowing everyone else up.

You must have fallen down a rabbit hole if you've got bus stops around every corner.

steveinspain wrote:

Angry wrote:

Tgwu wrote:

Lord Tisdale wrote:

Tgwu wrote:

I going to Spain £140 from Bristol with one cabin case and a carry on bag,  £357 from Exe with one cabin bag, this is for two. Parking is cheaper. Even Bournemouth is cheaper by a long way.

Fecking poor people.

Nobody looks after us OAP's

Angry wants us kicked off bus now.

too right walk more or catch it when the journey is far and not round the corner slowing everyone else up.

You must have fallen down a rabbit hole if you've got bus stops around every corner.

There about 4 on embankment alone all within 2 minute walk and thats just embankment.

The Government in talks to see if the airport can reopen.



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Biggest issue here is shorely that the leaseholders, SHH have no intention whatsoever to reopen the airport. They simply want to fill it with houses and make a killing from one or more of the big home builders.

Grants from the government change the goalposts considerably as far as re-opening and short term viability is concerned. If a new pro-airport leaseholder can take it on from SHH, then seeing planes up there again could be a very real possibility. Hope it happens.

Grants ?      Subsidies you mean. Plenty of money to subsidise a failing airport in the name of 'wealth generation' while slashing health and welfare. Of course, the whole ironic idea is that we need wealth to pay for the welfare and health. It's all bollux and dogma.

Plymouth has had an airport for donkey's ears, yet I haven't seen it create much wealth. And what does the university need an airport for ? Is dear old Jimmy too tired to drive up to London, or take the train ? It's just as quick, door to door, none of that checking in and baggage nonsense, waiting for the wind to die down
I'm actually not bothered one way or the other, as the Dash planes aren't particularly noisy. I'm not a fan of internal flying over short distances, as it's not very green, but I certainly don't want Sutton Harbour pulling a stroke just to make bagfuls of money. A city has long term planning strategies, and the last thing it needs is a bunch of profiteers going completely against the strategy, building houses that will have to be subsidised by the taxpayer in order to sell them. I heard this morning China has built 10 mmillion private homes through cheap money, but there's no people to buy them. They remain empty, just liket the Irish subsidised nonsense, that saw so many empty houses. Did they demolish them all in the end, to protect the housing prices ? Free market, my arse.

Campaign to reopen Plymouth airport attracts 'major financial backer' believed to have given £5m


A FINANCIAL backer has come forward pledging their support to get the airport back open - with £5million rumoured to have been made available to campaigners.

A member of Friends of Plymouth Airport said that FlyPlymouth, the group which wants to reopen Plymouth City Airport, had secured "a major financial backer" to support its bid.

The Herald understands the backer has promised close to £5million.

David Coles, a stalwart supporter of having the Roborough site reopened, told 50 people at a Plymouth MP's residents meeting that the money would help support FlyPlymouth's plan to have flights re-instated within the next year.

The news came as Johnny Mercer MP told constituents he "would love to see an airport in Plymouth" to help keep graduates in the city and support businesses.

The Tory was addressing residents' concerns at a public meeting in Southway on Saturday morning when he was asked about the future of Plymouth City Airport.

It has sat mothballed since 2011 after leaseholders Sutton Harbour Holdings (SHH) Plc activated an Armageddon clause, stating that it was no longer commercially viable.

"I would love to see an airport in Plymouth," said the Moor View MP.

"I think we have a large enough city and it will be something that will help us keep our talented young people here. The problem we have is whether it is economically viable. That is what we need to ascertain.

"The problem with the viability reports that have been done by the likes of Sutton Harbour Holdings, Plymouth City Council and FlyPlymouth is that no-one is going to invest on the basis of what we call 'stakeholder' reviews.

"I called on the government to do its own review and it is doing that."

He added a note of caution, saying that the city had to be prepared to listen to the outcomes of the report, which is due in December, even if it is bad news.

"There are serious problems around the city to do with housing and providing for our young people and so we may have to be very mature about this if they [the Government report] say it is not viable," added the former army captain, speaking at Holy Spirit church hall in Clittaford Road.

Richard Crocker, director of FlyPlymouth, said he did not wish to comment on whether the social enterprise - a non-profit making business - had secured financial backing.

He added: "We have a credible business plan and so it should come as no surprise to anyone that there is financial support for our proposals."

FlyPlymouth's ambition is to take over the lease for the airport from Plymouth City Council and begin passenger flights again in a move that they say could inject £26m back into the city's economy.

Mr Crocker, a pilot, said the group's timetable would see them landing planes at the airport again by next Easter, with passenger services commencing in 2018.

Commenting on Mr Mercer's remarks about the Government report, he said: "It would make life extremely difficult if it says the airport is not viable.

"But we expect, having reviewed our work, that it will come to the conclusion that it is viable and that it should reopen in the near future."

UKIP councillor Maddi Bridgeman and avid airport campaigner quizzed council leader Tudor Evans on the future of the airport at the last full council meeting.

She said pointed to the Plymouth Plan's policy that the city would need the airport to be reopened if it was to emerge as an "international city" and asked whether the council, on that basis, would seek to retract the lease from SHH, order a compulsory purchase on it or bring in an alternative operator.

Cllr Evans replied: "As everything we are doing with Sutton Harbour is commercial and confidential, you won't expect me to talk about this [publicly]."

SHH were unavailable for comment.



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must be a first for tudor to stfu

pointless

Hugh Watt wrote:

pointless

It'll never take off.

That Mercer is just winging it.

Should have been extended decades ago under compulsary purchase of relevant houses to enable 737's to land.......that would have been enough to ensure short haul destinations up to 4 hours and the airport would really have taken off

Businesses to discuss Plymouth airport future


THE issues surrounding Plymouth's closed airport will be discussed when the city's premier business supper club reconvenes next week.

Titled Plymouth Airport: Fight or Flight?, guest speaker Raoul Witherall, chief executive of FlyPlymouth will explain how the social enterprise envisages re-establishing an airport.

Run by city business professionals, the company wants to provide a service that will enable future investment and job creation, and boost Plymouth business.

Mr Witherall said: "I am delighted to be able to speak to businesses at the Business Supper Club and share our plans to re-open Plymouth's airport.

"We believe re-opening the airport is deliverable in two to three years, and collaboration between businesses and organisations in the city is key to this.

"A reopened airport will more than halve the connection times to the capital, and that can only be good for attracting inward investment and creating jobs."

Mr Witherall is expected to share with guests, details of why and how FlyPlymouth will re-open the airport, including covering issues such as finance, viability and future longevity of the facility.

Guests will have the opportunity to ask questions and debate this key topic.

The Business Supper Club was set up by City College Plymouth in partnership with The Herald more than two years ago to encourage debate and honest opinion in a confidential environment.

It is the only event of its kind in Plymouth, enabling business professionals to chew the fat on key topics that matter to the South West

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harvetheslayer wrote:

Should have been extended decades ago under compulsary purchase of relevant houses to enable 737's to land.......that would have been enough to ensure short haul destinations up to 4 hours and the airport would really have taken off

Where would they land then?
Seriously - there is no point in using the old site. Too restricted and no space for expansion. Have to be on the outskirts ideally adjacent to the A38.
What about Sir John's (doffing my forelock) garden?

tigertony wrote:

harvetheslayer wrote:

Should have been extended decades ago under compulsary purchase of relevant houses to enable 737's to land.......that would have been enough to ensure short haul destinations up to 4 hours and the airport would really have taken off

Where would they land then?
Seriously - there is no point in using the old site. Too restricted and no space for expansion. Have to be on the outskirts ideally adjacent to the A38.
What about Sir John's (doffing my forelock) garden?

Too restricted yes hence the Complusary purchases that should have been done 40 years ago. We are so micky mouse and nimbys.

I'm still hopeful that it can be re-opened. Harv is right, comp purch should have been the way forward many moons ago. Hey ho. Typical Plymouth, many might say.

What is promising at the moment though, is the largely held opinions of people and organisations nationally, that large-scale regional investment in sites precisely like Roborough should be the way forward. The hike in train fares (price up an eye-watering short notice 1st class ticket to Paddington) means if landing slots can be negotiated as part of either the Gatwick or Heathrow expansion, there's every chance the airport could indeed become viable once more.

SHH were never interested in looking to push Plymouth as a destination airport. They were always eyeing the sale of the land for development as the real money maker. If someone with drive and vision can take over the lease, the seemingly impossible may just be possible.

Compulsory purchase for a provincial airport ? This is Britain, not China. We still have some human rights. It's amazing what unlikely people approve of the nanny state once it suits their purposes  
I wouldn't want some jobsworth stealing my garden for an airport runway, so if that makes me a nimby , so be it.We're all nimbys when it comes to our own property.
Better they installed a more reliable, quicker and cheaper railway service. Flying to London door to door, including security, boarding etc, is little quicker by plane in any case. And about time all air travel was stripped of it's huge government subsidies. I thought there was some sort of austerity going on. Not for the favoured industries like airtravel, banking, car production etc.
Of course, the elegant and cheapest solution is for people to actually live within a reasonable distance of their workplace, and make more use of IT conferencing facilities. It would solve all manner of problems, finance and post code lotteries, but then, that would mean being sensible,

CBI chief.

Deborah Waddell, CBI South West director, said connectivity to the peninsula is of key importance to it economy – allowing it to reach lucrative developing global markets.

She said Heathrow's runway expansion is one of the key decisions facing the South West's MPs – and urged Plymouth Tories Oliver Colvile, Gary Streeter and Johnny Mercer to back the proposal

And she stressed: "Whilst the runway may not be in the South West, the implications of failing to take action certainly are.

"Businesses are acutely aware that connectivity is the lifeblood of new trade.

"Independent research demonstrates that eight new routes to emerging markets alone would provide up to a £1billion boost to annual UK trade.

"This will come as no surprise to many, but it underlines a key point: if British exports are to thrive, we need connections to as many markets as possible – and as soon as possible."

Ms Waddell, who is based in both Exeter and Plymouth, said that current stalling on making a decision on London air capacity has already handed first-mover advantage in the markets to competitors – and is costing the UK.

"A glance at flights to China tells you everything you need to know," she said. "By fostering links to cities like Xiamen, Wuhan and Shenyang – among others – our European rivals such as France and Germany now have access to a Chinese market with a combined population of over 38million.

She stressed that even though the expansion is focussed on the South East, and Plymouth is currently without an airport, the issues is still of vital importance to the city and region.

"Competitive airports must form a key part of the solution, which will be achieved by bolstering surface access connections to airports such as Newquay Cornwall," she said.

"Yet we have to recognise the unique and complementary role that an accessible national hub airport like Heathrow plays in connecting firms in the South West such as Graphic Plc and Imerys to the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China) of today and the MINTs (Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey) of tomorrow.

"By drawing on transfer passengers, hub airports serve on average three times as many emerging market destinations as non-hubs.

"I say 'accessible' however for a reason. That is because as Heathrow has become full, it is not just new international routes that have come under threat.

"In 1990, Heathrow served 18 UK routes. Today it is just seven. With all of London's airports full as early as 2025, the implications for our region should be clear."

She said CBI research indicates a cost of £31billion in lost exports to the BRICs in the time it takes to deliver a new runway.

"With so many other potential markets, that is just the tip of the iceberg," she said.

She said the Airports Commission's recommendation of a third runway at Heathrow represented the option that will deliver "maximum benefit" outside of the South East – and for all regions of the UK.

"The message from businesses to our MPs here in the South West is equally clear – play your part, vote to get it built," she urged.

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Sir John Hawkins wrote:

Compulsory purchase for a provincial airport ? This is Britain, not China. We still have some human rights. It's amazing what unlikely people approve of the nanny state once it suits their purposes  
I wouldn't want some jobsworth stealing my garden for an airport runway, so if that makes me a nimby , so be it.We're all nimbys when it comes to our own property.
Better they installed a more reliable, quicker and cheaper railway service. Flying to London door to door, including security, boarding etc, is little quicker by plane in any case. And about time all air travel was stripped of it's huge government subsidies. I thought there was some sort of austerity going on. Not for the favoured industries like airtravel, banking, car production etc.
Of course, the elegant and cheapest solution is for people to actually live within a reasonable distance of their workplace, and make more use of IT conferencing facilities. It would solve all manner of problems, finance and post code lotteries, but then, that would mean being sensible,

I don't know about that but a while back I had to go to from Exeter to Dumfries and back to Plymouth in the line of duty. This entailed a hire car to Bristol Airport, a flight to Glasgow, another hire car to Dumfries. The return journey was hire car to Glasgow flight back to Roborough, taxi home.

All told it was a nightmare. Dumfries is about midway between Carlisle and Glasgow. I could have driven there just as quickly. The journey back was much better but it still took far longer than you might expect.

Flying was fun and it was all an interesting experience but was it any better than a journey in a comfy car, stopping as and when I wanted to with a few cool sounds on the radio all the way? Not really. And by the time the company paid for me and 2 colleagues to make the trip it would have been far cheaper in a diesel car too.

"Business people" like the CBI chief would turf everyone out of their homes, put them in salarymen pods or hostels, and have them in suspended consciousness on zero hours contracts waiting for an order...... if they could. They really would. To them profit means absolutely everything.
"Local businesses" would promote an airport in Penzance if they could, and of course they did. That was an air link to the Scilly's, where one could actually make a case for a link. The local businesses failed because a bigger baron gave them a kicking, hung, drew and quartered a few and built yet another supermarket right next to three others. What a great way to spend UK monies. Who on earth would trust anything these profit miners say when it comes to the community ?
It is their job to promote business, any business at the expense of everything else.
It is the job of citizens to promote their own interests. An airport in Plymouth never produced locally owned wealth, and is even less likely to in this day and age.
This airport will be kicked around like affotball for donkey's ears, sometimes closing, sometimes opening, all depending on who has the clout at the time.

Sir John Hawkins wrote:

"Business people" like the CBI chief would turf everyone out of their homes, put them in salarymen pods or hostels, and have them in suspended consciousness on zero hours contracts waiting for an order...... if they could. They really would. To them profit means absolutely everything.
"Local businesses" would promote an airport in Penzance if they could, and of course they did. That was an air link to the Scilly's, where one could actually make a case for a link. The local businesses  failed because a bigger baron gave them a kicking, hung, drew and quartered a few  and built yet another supermarket right next to three others. What a great way to spend UK monies. Who on earth would trust anything these profit miners say when it comes to the community ?
It is their job to promote business, any business at the expense of everything else.
It is the job of citizens to promote their own interests. An airport in Plymouth never produced locally owned wealth, and is even less likely to in this day and age.
This airport will be kicked around like affotball for donkey's ears, sometimes closing, sometimes opening, all depending on who has the clout at the time.

Didn't something 12 people use it per day? The thing with Airports however is that they need routes to make them worthwhile, not enough people see Plymouth as a destination. Exeter is far better placed where it is to cater for the surrounding area and the government virtually pay flybe to use it. The benefit of these things are towards the construction behemoths who tend to have Conservative donors on their board who can build these these white elephants and disappear off into the sunset with a sack of taxpayers money. Its why like SJH says above why supermarkets get built next to each other. Redistributing cash upwards without a care in the world given to the local community.

I think that 12 people per day figure came about once the routes into anywhere useful were lost.

I'm sure it'd be much busier flying into Heathrow or Gatwick.

There was certainly more than 12 people on the Glasgow flight I took.

I always understood the most useful route operated was the short hop to Cork, and a real plus over rail or road obviously. An old steel fixer friend of mine and former Lyndhurst drinker, in his later years, landed the boring plumb job of airport security up there for donkey's ears. He always said the overall traffic was a running joke, and wondered how on earth the airport paid it's way.  The slots at the favoured Heathrow/Gatwick were always an issue, and down to a pillow fight among the air barons. But even then, anyone here who went to Crawley by car recently will know how long the car journey by M25 or whatever into London can take, it's a pig. Rail is the no brainer for the business person trying to look clever.
Of course, my opinion is travel into London SHOULD BE arduous, and then perhaps over a period of time, business and wealth just might migrate out of that overcrowded hell hole to somewhere in the country that could do with the business. London is full up, and the continuing hot spot business mentality is causing massive social problems, including housing costs up there, that then pour down this way with the migrating desire to live here, but not work here. It's called PLANNING, something Germany and France are far better at than us.
I will die knowing that human herd logic is no better than a flock of birds. Maybe that's how it's meant to be.

Sir Francis Drake wrote:

I think that 12 people per day figure came about once the routes into anywhere useful were lost.

I'm sure it'd be much busier flying into Heathrow or Gatwick.

There was certainly more than 12 people on the Glasgow flight I took.

When it was originally into Heathrow it was choca every flight. I'm going back to around the 1993 era. When they switched subsequently to Gatwick my Daughter was working at Roborough and used to get me stand by tickets. You had to pick your day and flight very carefully as invariably they were choca as well
If it wasn't full leaving Plymouth it always was time they picked up at Newquay

Plan for Plymouth City Airport to become hundreds of homes with shops and restaurants


PLYMOUTH’S former airport site could be redeveloped as a suburban community featuring shops, restaurants and hundreds of new homes.

A report commissioned by Sutton Harbour Holdings (SHH), which owns the land, says the disused airfield could meet 10 per cent of Plymouth’s housing need and “play a vital role” in the city’s economic and social future.

SHH chief executive Jason Schofield is preparing to present the blueprints to the council, saying the site could become the city’s “powerhouse” and should be placed at the heart of the Plymouth Plan.

“These are impressive evidence-based figures which show conclusively the benefits that can flow from this site, including a windfall for the council and cast-iron long-term income from business rates and council tax,” Mr Schofield said.

“We will continue to make our case that, along with Plymouth’s world-class waterfront, the former airport site should be a centrepiece of the Plymouth Plan as a strategic mixed-use development site that can match the city’s ambition and deliver on the Government’s growth agenda.”

FlyPlymouth says it remains on track to reintroduce passenger services from 2018; but SHH has a long lease on the 113-acre site, which is currently protected from development under the draft Plymouth Plan.

Mr Schofield added: “Mothballing it for hoped-for general aviation use for the few that can afford to pursue flying as a hobby would be a backward step and hold the city back, especially given the compelling evidence that an airport on this site cannot work.”

The report, published by research consultancy Regeneris, looks at the social and economic impact of creating a new community comprised of 1,600 homes, a hotel, gym, restaurants, shops, a park, a school and a ‘cycling hub’ velodrome.

The report concludes that the site could become a new “garden suburb”, creating 360 new jobs and bringing £60million to the city over the next 10 years.

Blueprints for the scheme show a stretch of grass, with trees on either side, spanning the entire length of the disused runway.

The community would be linked by pedestrian routes to nearby parks and to the nearby University of St Mark and St John.

The plan: facts and figures

- 360 permanent full-time commercial jobs, including 300 on site, generating £59.2million over 10 years.

- 340 full-time temporary construction jobs, supported by £190million construction investment.

- 180 full-time jobs across the city and £86.5million extra household expenditure over 10 years.

- 1,600 new homes, up to 10 per cent of Plymouth’s objectively assessed housing need.

- Estimated ‘new homes bonus’ payment to Plymouth City Council of £12.8million; £3.1million ‘community infrastructure levy’; estimated income over 10 years of £3.1million business rates and £12.8million council tax.

Boris' warning over regional connectivity

THE Mayor of London has said Plymouth is unlikely to be reconnected with Heathrow even if the city’s mothballed airport re-opens, writes Sam Blackledge.

Boris Johnson has written to MPs and business leaders warning that even if a third runway at Heathrow is approved, the number of British cities served is likely to fall even further.

Mr Johnson is a vocal opponent of plans to expand Heathrow, preferring the option of creating a new four-runway airport in the Thames estuary.

Citing a report published by the Airports Commission back in July, the Mayor says there is evidence that an expanded Heathrow would accommodate even fewer domestic routes than at present.

Mr Johnson said: “Having connections with the UK hub airport is hugely important for Devon. Those connections allow businesses to trade and secure investment across the globe.

“But the truth is that Heathrow has been failing our regions well over a quarter of a century and quite staggeringly the Airports Commission's own analysis shows that the construction of a third runway only worsens the situation.

“That is not how you rebalance the economy and spread prosperity across the UK.

“The only long-term solution that would enable British businesses to compete on a level playing field with our European competitors is to build a four-runway hub airport, and the only logical location for that airport is to the east of London.”

Raoul Witherall, of FlyPlymouth, said: “Boris Johnson's assertions are not surprising given his implacable opposition to a third runway at Heathrow. Heathrow's main argument is that it will be best solution for the country as a whole.

“South East England hub capacity is not vital to re-opening Plymouth Airport. It would be good to connect to a UK hub later, but is not a fundamental.

“The flux in the debate around long term airport planning in the south east underlines the wisdom of Plymouth City Council of safeguarding Plymouth Airport for aviation use.

“FlyPlymouth remain on track to have the first passenger air services resumed from Plymouth in 2018 irrespective of the debate raging over a 3rd Heathrow runway.

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