Plymouth update

With a Department for Transport study due shortly, supporters of Plymouth Airport held a quarterly update meeting at the Future Inn hotel, Tavistock Road, Plymouth last week.

Called ‘Fly Plymouth’, the group plans to re-open the mothballed Roborough Airport initially for general aviation and later scheduled services. At its peak, Brymon Airways served Heathrow with up to five flights daily. The carrier was purchased by British Airways for its slots and succeeded by Air South West, part of Sutton Harbour Holdings Plc, which also purchased the lease allegedly for house building. Air South West failed.

As things stand, there is a building ban on the sole existing runway until 2031. Plymouth is the only major city in the UK without an airport and is 220 miles from London, with poor surface links.

Fly Plymouth chief executive Raoul Witherall said the next 12 months are vital. “The Joint Local Plan had 90 votes for the airport, and only four against,” he noted. 

There will be an Examination in Public in 2017, where the policy to safeguard the airport will be reviewed by an inspector, with evidence submitted by the current leaseholders and Fly Plymouth. Fly Plymouth is seeking £75,000 in seed funds to promote its case. A determination is expected in September 2017.  

Laurie Price video comments

www.flyplymouth.com

Index/Home page
 

OUR READERS' FINEST WORDS (All times and dates are GMT)

All comments are filtered to exclude any excesses but the Editor does not have to agree with what is being said. 100 words maximum