VIABLE’s campaign hits the road

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As part of VIABLE's ongoing public campaign, we have just signed a contract with Plymouth Citybus to provide us with advertisments on their buses.

The adverts hit the roads of Plymouth last Wednesday (16th May 2012) on routes 41 and 42 to Southway and Tamerton Foliot and have been placed on the nearside of 3 vehicles.

We are very proud of what has been ccomplished and so far the adverts have been a massive hit!

Plymouth Citybus 63

VIABLE is told of bid to protect site

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The Plymouth City Airport site might benefit from council protection to prevent houses being built, it was reiterated at our public meeting last night.

Viable, the group fighting to reopen the airport, held a packed meeting at Future Inn where Cllr Ian Bowyer, cabinet member for finance, was invited to speak and answer questions.

 In front of around 100 people he said Plymouth City Council supported the idea of the airport, so long as there was a viable plan to go forward.


"We are trying to protect the site by removing it from the Seaton and Derriford Action Plan for future expansion," he said.

"We have taken it out. It will remain categorised as an airport."

Sutton Harbour Group (SHG), which operated the airport on a 150-year-lease from Plymouth City Council, shut it in December saying it was not economically sustainable

The company's lease allows it to sell the land if it closes the airport. The council would take 75 per cent of the proceeds.

In August, the council's Cabinet backed the closure after SHG had produced two consultants' reports which said no one wanted to run the airport or flights, and not enough businesses used the airstrip to make it economically viable.

A campaign group, Viable, hit back with a business plan to reopen and run the airport.

Cllr Bowyer said: "We need a mature and informed debate on the matter and I feel many people are only getting half the picture on this. I will take messages back to the council and we will talk to Viable via the chair, Raoul Witherall.

"I don't want to see houses built all over the site," he added.

Viable's vision is to extend the runway. They are running a petition in support of the airport which now has 13,000 signatures.

But Cllr Bowyer said: "This is not a bucket and spade airport and it never will be – the runway isn't long enough. An airport is important to the city but it has to be viable. I cannot make any sweeping promises – our financial position is tight."

He said the council could not raise the £30million needed to invest back into the airport. This would mean raising council tax by a third for everyone in the city, he said.

 

Full story here

Next VIABLE Meetings

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Below are confimed dates for the next 3 VIABLE public meetings to be held at the Future Inn, Tavistock Rd at 1815pm as usual.

PUBLIC MEETINGS (6:15 pm Future Inn):

  • 24 APRIL

  • 29 MAY

  • 26 JUNE


As always, please invite all of your friends and colleagues and we look forward to seeing you all there!

 

Airport Petition Form

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For those who have requested airport petition forms, you can now download them directly from the website, at the address below;

Click Here

Please keep the petition to 10 signatures a page, one side only and ensuring that the first line of the address and post code are completed. That makes the petition valid and easier to count, you can return any completed fill sheets of petitions to the address listed on the bottom of the sheet, or alternatively bring them along to the next public meeting. Thank you.

THE VIABLE PLAN

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Last August, Plymouth City Council took the decision to allow Plymouth airport to be closed as there was no private sector company prepared to operate the airport without open-ended local authority subsidies and no scheduled airline found to provide services. That position has now changed. Viable Plymouth Ltd is a new local aviation group set up to fill this void while at the same time, ending public sector exposure to the airport.

Over the past weeks, Viable has introduced its proposals to reopen Plymouth's airport and provide scheduled air services to reconnect our City with the world. These plans have been put to the Council, business groups, MPs, the media and business leaders where they have been well received. Moreover, Viable's proposals are in line with the official commercial evidence in the public domain such as the studies carried out last year by Berkley Hanover and existing historic data.

WHO IS 'VIABLE'?

Viable is made up of some 400 (and growing) concerned Plymouth individuals and businesses with a significant proportion from the business and aviation communities. Viable Plymouth Ltd is a company limited by guarantee formed to create two profit-making subsidiaries that will run the airport and a new scheduled airline. Viable's committee is made up of local business people, solicitors, accountants and aviation management. Public support for Viable's activities extends well beyond its membership with a petition fast growing towards 10,000 signatures.

SO WHAT'S THE PLAN?

Viable's plan for Plymouth airport comprises three distinct phases:

  • PHASE 1 Get the airport open and operating profitably based on minimal fixed overheads. This includes getting key tenants back in so that fixed revenues exceed fixed costs and attracting users back to the airport to grow revenues. Charter aircraft, air taxis, general aviation and helicopters will provide the bulk of movements. This is an intensive care phase designed simply to get things open and stable.

  • PHASE 2 Once operations have stabilised Viable will set up up a new airline to be based at Plymouth providing daily scheduled services. Initially this will be based on two 19 seater aircraft serving London and Manchester each twice daily with additional services to Dublin, Jersey and Leeds. This airline will serve up to 50,000 passengers in its first year and grow steadily to meet local demand. This phase could be extended for as long as is necessary with the airline growing organically in line with passenger demand. In time this could well see the reintroduction of larger 50 seater aircraft.

  • PHASE 3 Viable intends to put the long term sustainability of Plymouth airport beyond question by ensuring that the facility is properly configured and optimised to serve the City's ongoing air transport requirements (see Masterplan Design). The runway will be extended to 1319m plus the necessary clearways and runway end safety areas (RESAs) required by CAA regulations. This is the maximum permitted runway length on the available airfield width. Together with other improvements such as a taxi loop, a new terminal and hangars and new facilities to the north of the runway this will create an efficient optimised facility similar to London City Airport.


Able to handle quiet modern 100 seater aircraft the expanded airport will for the first time open Plymouth to most European destinations. By reorienting the terminal parallel to the runway, land can be freed up to provide a modern gateway comprising shops, hotels and restaurants that will form a stylish hub for the north of the city. This will also connect the airport properly to the Tavistock Road, ending its present 'country lane' status. Plymouth airport will in future provide transport links that make our direct connections to Europe, Asia and the rest of the world as important as those to London.


WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?

This is not about planes, this is about our city. We believe that Plymouth has the potential to become one of the best places in the UK in which to live and work. The mild climate, proximity to Europe, low costs, the sea, the coast, the space. Our city has much to commend it. To realise its potential however, Plymouth has to make the very best of all of its assets – including its people - and the airport is key here. It has the potential to redefine the City. To lose air links at this point in our history for the short term gain of a few would be a disaster for the future economic well being of Plymouth. We know that the airport has been a marginal facility and that regional aviation is a risk-laden industry. However, Viable plans to work to reduce marginality and ensure Plymouth has long term air links with the potential to connect it directly and permanently with the World.

VIABLE public meeting and plans.

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Please be reminded that the next public meeting of VIABLE will take place on Tuesday March 27th at the Future Inn Tavistock road, 1815 as previous. Please bring along any of your friends or work colleagues that might be interested.

From the link below, you can also obtain a copy in .PDF format of our airport design plans constructed by Dan Gaston at VIABLE.

 VIABLE Airport Plans

Have questions? Please don't hesitate to contact us on info@viable.org.uk

VIABLE Petition Signatures

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On Saturday 10th & 17th March, members of the Viable Working Group and ex Air SouthWest staff, gathered in Plymouth City Centre to trial the petition and gauge the public’s response.  In just under 3 hours they gathered an amazing 950 signatures and approximately 70 new members for Viable and on the 17th we reached a staggering 1,100 signatures!

 The public were very supportive and we would like to do this again so please let us know if you are available to join us.  We will be uploading copies of the petition and plans constructed by VIABLE member Dan Gaston, the wording is the same as the e-petition so if you have already signed either the online copy, or paper copy before then you don’t need to do so again.  Please pass this around to friends, family, work colleagues etc and either hand in at the next VIABLE meeting or post completed petitions to the address at the bottom of the petition.

Plymouth’s US cousin gets local backing

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Step across the Atlantic pond for a moment and look at how the locals there are talking up their airport. Plymouth, MA airport is a predominantly General Aviation field with runway lengths similar to Plymouth Devon.

See article: http://plymouth.patch.com/articles/study-finds-plymouth-airport-is-critical-to-the-south-shore-economy-087d3389

Yet just this month a local government study has shown how vital this facility is to the local economy.  Something to be learned from our American cousins, we feel.