Plymouth needs an airport – that has always been my position – and is one of the main points in my Transport Manifesto from the last General Election.

That’s why I’m so pleased that Labour-run Plymouth City Council wants to extend the protection it gives to its airport site under the Joint Local Plan. Cllr Tudor Evans, the Council Leader is right to do this as ‘once gone, it would be gone forever’.

Over the coming weeks, Plymouth’s Cabinet, West Devon’s Hub Committee and South Ham’s Executive will meet to consider whether the Joint Local Plan – adopted in 2019 – still provides an appropriate framework for development of the area.

This is through a five-year review which considers how the plan fares against its own performance targets, changed to national policy, guidance and legislation, and changed economic, social and environmental circumstances.

For those who follow it closely, there are two Joint Local Plan policies specifically related to the airport, policies SPT8 and PLY42.

These safeguard the opportunity for the potential future use of the site as a general aviation airport until the five-year review of the plan and protect airport infrastructure.

I do not want to see Sutton Harbour Holdings build luxury homes on the runway. The airport site should be safeguarded for electric aviation uses in my view and that’s something I’ve been consistent in expressing since I was elected in 2017.

The airport closed under a Conservative Council and a Conservative-led Government. Labour has safeguarded the land and in seeking to extend the protections, we are able to keep options open for the site and its future use for transport.

The City Council explains more here saying:

”The safeguarding policy was originally conceived to provide sufficient time for a private sector led business plan to be finalised and put into action. At the time the JLP was adopted, five years was considered a reasonable period for this to happen.

However since then a series of seismic global events have affected many business sectors, including aviation; pandemic, the economic consequences of the Russia/Ukraine war and other events on global markets, with significant inflationary pressures.

There have also been significant technological developments in aviation with greener options emerging as well as hybrid/electric aviation developments and last mile delivery drones that will require aircraft testing, manufacture and repair facilities and vertiport developments.

With business and the general aviation sector continuing to recover from the pandemic, it is reasonable to assume the delivery of aviation uses at the former airport site will take longer to achieve than first anticipated, says the report.

National planning policy is also a consideration, with the Government recognising ‘the importance of maintaining a national network of general aviation airfields, and their need to adapt and change over time – taking into account their economic value in serving business, leisure, training and emergency service needs, and the Government’s General Aviation Strategy’.

The Government’s strategy identifies the difficulty in finding suitable sites as one of the main reasons for the lack of new general aviation accessible airfields nationally – not an issue for Plymouth given that the site has been safeguarded for this purpose.

The site is close to Derriford hospital, Plymouth Marjon University and the cluster of high value businesses at Plymouth Science Park and Plymouth International Medical and Technology Park.

It would play a key role in realising the potential of the Derriford and Northern Corridor Growth Area as a regionally significant growth hub.

The report highlights that there had been a private sector interest in a general aviation airport at the site and some business planning work had taken place.

The Council has engaged with airport and investor groups and committed to more action to help overcome land ownership constraints for future aviation use of the site. It is continuing to negotiate with the leaseholder about buying the lease back and is exploring all options to regain control of the site.”

The position of the Labour Party City Council can be summarised as follows:

• The objective to safeguard the opportunity for aviation use at the airport site remains valid and this position is supported by national policy
• Although two policies specifically reference the five-year review, and there is currently no private sector-led solution and action to re-establish aviation use, the need to continue with the safeguarding position remains valid.
• The safeguarding period of five years is not sufficient to respond to the unforeseeable circumstances and to fully resolve complex issues around business planning and constraints to deliverability in relation to land ownership.
• The economic and social benefits from general aviation are of such significance to justify extending the safeguarding period beyond the five-year review
• These factors are material considerations for planning decisions relating to the airport site and opportunities for aviation use.
• The City Council, as the relevant local planning authority, will continue to seek to safeguard the opportunity for general aviation use of the airport site until the question of acquisition of the land has reached its conclusion.