Carlisle Airport revamp would create 'industrial estate' in the country
Last updated at 13:48, Friday, 24 October 2008
Opponents of a £25 million plan to redevelop Carlisle Airport say the proposals could create an “industrial estate” in open countryside.
Airport owner Andrew Tinkler last week tabled a new planning application for the Crosby-on-Eden airfield.
It shows a 371,000sq ft warehouse for road haulier Eddie Stobart, a four-storey office block shared by Eddie Stobart and Stobart Rail, a chilled dock, gatehouse, canteen and parking for 339 cars and 143 lorries.
The scheme is smaller than earlier plans, which Mr Tinkler dropped after they were called in for a public inquiry.
But the Carlisle Airport Residents’ Forum, an Irthington-based group that objected to the first planning application, also opposes this one.
One of its members, Ian Gray, said: “If this goes ahead, it will set a precedent and we will end up with an industrial estate.”
Another, Mike Fox, said: “Last time the application for a corporate HQ was tied in with the extension of the airport and the benefits that would bring. This time it is more clear cut. All this application is for, is for the placement of a corporate HQ and haulage depot.
“It has no relationship to the airport and could be built on a site anywhere in Carlisle with easier access to the motorway.
“Although the shed would be smaller, it would still be two-thirds the size of the Lanes shopping centre.”
The planning application from Stobart Air says the airport is likely to close by 2011 and 565 jobs at Eddie Stobart and Stobart Rail at Kingstown, Carlisle, could be lost to Cumbria if the relocation proposals are turned down.
Mr Gray described that implied threat as “19th-century carrot and stick capitalism”.
The residents’ group also questions whether 565 jobs would be lost if the Stobart headquarters goes to Cheshire instead.
It says 200 of the posts are rail maintenance workers who would still be needed in Cumbria, as would some truck drivers.
Gordon Brown, whose family has farmed at Lane End opposite the airport for almost 100 years, said: “If Stobart Air are so confident in their arguments, why don’t they take it to a public inquiry? Are they afraid of scrutiny?”
Mr Brown leases land from the airport needed for the development.
He says he is entitled to one year’s notice so, even if the scheme is approved, it could not go ahead for at least 12 months.
Stobart Air’s plans retain the existing runway, control tower and terminal building.
But the company says the aim is still to start passenger flights to London, although it does not expect “significant” volumes of air freight.
The objectors are unconvinced.
Another forum member, William Harrison, said: “We don’t know what sort of aircraft the runway could take. It could be a part-loaded 737 jet. We still have at the back of our minds the fear of freight flights late at night.”
Stobart Air is holding a public meeting in Brampton to answer questions on the proposals. Professor Robin Smith, the former head of the Carlisle’s university campus, will chair the meeting at William Howard School at 7pm on Tuesday November 4.
Airport manager Richard Gordon has defended the plans, saying: “They say the HQ could be built anywhere but if Stobart Group have land they own [in Cheshire] and an option to buy the airport, why would they go out and acquire land elsewhere at a cost?”
He said while it was true rail maintenance staff worked away from the HQ, they still had to return there regularly for briefings and training.
He added: “We are not saying 565 jobs would be lost but they would be lost to Cumbria, as would the spend that comes with them.”
Mr Gordon said Stobart Air had drawn up new plans because waiting for an inquiry would have delayed the original scheme for a year.
The earliest date the plans can go before Carlisle City Council’s development control committee is December 19.
Stobart Air has published a brochure this week explaining its latest proposals.
It says the development would create 100 jobs and safeguard the 565 at Kingstown.
The company promises to enter into a legally-binding agreement with the council to upgrade the runway.
And it argues that no airport can survive without revenues from “non-aeronautical” operations such as parking, shops and rents from offices and warehousing.
The brochure cites figures from Bournemouth, Humberside, Gatwick, Leeds-Bradford, Manchester and East Midlands airports to back its case. It also urges readers to write to the council to support the airport development.
The brochure says: “It has been said before but this really is the last chance and every letter counts just as Stobart is counting on you. Let’s see Carlisle ‘united’ on this one.”
Haulage company Eddie Stobart is likely to continue expanding after the firm yesterday reported half-year profits of £11m.
As companies across Europe braced themselves for recession, Stobart Group is thriving, and planning to continue its growth by buying up yet more businesses.
The Stobart Group figures, for the six months to the end of August, confirm a profit before tax of £11m. The company’s revenue from its business operations were £199.2 million. Its road haulage operations showed revenues grew by 30 per cent, with operating profits up by 132 per cent.
First published at 05:14, Friday, 24 October 2008
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk
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