Make sure we change the game
TODAY we reveal how Viable, the group hoping to reopen Plymouth City Airport, has written to the council to formally express its interest in the site.
Naturally, we wish them well. The Herald has made no secret of its desire for the runway to be safeguarded and for profitable air services to restart as soon as possible.
But Viable has a lot of work to do. Big questions remain over where it will get the money to deliver its plans. And its announcement that it wishes to acquire the freehold of the land from the council should not pass without scrutiny.
Sutton Harbour Holdings, is acting with clarity and honesty - it is a development company which has a duty to maximise profits for its shareholders. It tried and failed to run a commercially successful airline from the site they lease from Plymouth City Council and it has now concluded the only profitable way forward for them is development.
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If Viable were to try and fail we would be in a position where not just the lease but the freehold of the land would be in the hands of a company which may similarly conclude that the bulldozer is the only profitable answer.
This is speculation and Viable deserve every opportunity to demonstrate it can breathe new life into our airport. But it is important that if the long term interests of this city be served and our airport is to be protected then safeguards need to be put in place to guarantee the future use of the land.
We do not want to discover that we have changed the players but the game remains the same.
Comments
by b_mused
Thursday, September 06 2012, 11:29PM
“Oops! Comment below needed re-writing.
"The Evening Herald says :-
"Sutton Harbour Holdings, is acting with clarity and honesty - it is a development company which has a duty to maximise profits for its shareholders. It tried and failed to run a commercially successful airline from the site they lease from Plymouth City Council and it has now concluded the only profitable way forward for them is development."
m_dalston says :-
"They never tried to run a commercially viable airport on the site."
jab777 appears to be in the know and agrees with timplymouth who says "SHH should hand the lease back to PCC for free."
I agree with m_dalston, jab and tim - the Council were mad to hand over a long term lease and entrust the running of an airport to a property development company "which has a duty to maximise profits for its shareholders." (More profit in development than running airports??)
The last sentence in the article is not particularly supportive of Viable so the Herald should do better.”
by b_mused
Thursday, September 06 2012, 11:22PM
“The Evening Herald says :-
"Sutton Harbour Holdings, is acting with clarity and honesty - it is a development company which has a duty to maximise profits for its shareholders. It tried and failed to run a commercially successful airline from the site they lease from Plymouth City Council and it has now concluded the only profitable way forward for them is development."
m_dalston says :-
"They never tried to run a commercially viable airport on the site."
The last sentence in the article is not particularly supportive of the airport re-opening so the Herald should do better.
jab777 appears to be in the know and agrees with timplymouth who says "SHH should hand the lease back to PCC for free."
I agree with m_dalston, jab and tim - the Council were mad to hand over a long term lease and entrust the running of an airport to a property development company "which has a duty to maximise profits for its shareholders."”
by jab777
Thursday, September 06 2012, 7:57PM
“I agree Tim, hand the lease over to an aviation team of people who have the knowledge and ability to make the airport work at Plymouth. I operated those flights and they were always full. Also if we are back on the Iata map we would connect with the World internationally again...train services can't do that!!! Lets get PLH back up and running for the future of our offspring. The only acronym or abbreviation that currently stands is a Pototo Leaf Hopper or Peace, Love and Happiness...come on City Council its a piece of paper thats all... Bring the airport back!!! Life is too short. Show us some PLH!!!”
by Magrathea2011
Thursday, September 06 2012, 11:55AM
“To the Editor - PLEASE do not redact the comments like you have done in the many other articles about the airport in recent days! You didnt on articles about the Incinerator, so what's this about redacting them (or even preventing comment at all) whenever the airport is concerned? I sincerely hope you are not having pressure put on you to do so.”
by CharlieDodd
Thursday, September 06 2012, 11:41AM
“What does Air Southwest have to say on the issue? They operated from the airport for years and i'm sure we'd like to hear their views and opinions including those of the pilots..”
by leroc
Thursday, September 06 2012, 10:47AM
“With support like this Viable doesn't need enemies!”
by m_dalston
Thursday, September 06 2012, 10:02AM
“Nice try Herald. But there is one flaw in your little pro-SSH article here. They never tried to run a commercially viable airport on the site. As you rightly state - they are a development company (so why give them the lease to an airport in the first place????). And they were a loss-making development company at that. They have turned what was the fastest growing UK airport 3 years ago into an airport that had lost 80 percent of its customers in less then a year.”
by timplymouth
Thursday, September 06 2012, 9:40AM
“SHH should hand the lease back to PCC for free.”