Airport is vital for our city to thrive

The Westcountry’s biggest city needs an aviation hub, says

MUCH has been written about the wish (or otherwise) for Plymouth to have an airport, and certainly views across our Ocean City can be quite forthright either way!

During the past few weeks, I’ve met with business owners and managers who cite Plymouth’s peninsula transportation weaknesses as a significant brake upon growth and future investment here.

Likewise, I’ve door-knocked residents who are vexed by repeated train strikes, major road works/closures, domestic fuel prices, as well as the limited routes offered at other regional airports. (Thankfully we live in a beautiful region where staycations combined with balmy summer weather are sometimes better than the luggage and passport routine!)

Then again, there is a significant portion of residents who disagree with Plymouth re-opening a city airport. They argue for various reasons – usually a mix of economic and environmental – that the effort to create an airport lacks common sense or isn’t such a priority.

From my own perspective, I firmly believe that it is a major structural economic weakness for Plymouth not to offer an aviation hub. Not just for our growing residential population but also to attract and ‘firm up’ higher-value jobs and investment.

This issue becomes critical as we seek to lock in some £314m of inward investment and 3,500 jobs by growing the Plymouth and South Devon Freeport at South Yard, Langage and Sherford. Or attracting direct visitors to Britain’s first National Marine Park.

Of eight UK Freeports being established by this Government, it is quite noticeable that our Freeport will be the only one with no airport on its doorstep. (Exeter Airport to Sherford is 41.6 miles; to Devonport, 48.6 miles.)

For job creators/business planners who look for investment locations (existing or future) to be interconnected with other places (in other words, not ‘out on a limb’), and who also need accessible, robust and efficient supply chains (including staff and contractors with key skills), Plymouth’s physical distance does create a problem.

Plymouth’s very impressive and emerging advanced manufacturing sector – positioning itself at the very heart of AI and autonomous transportation developments – can surely have a role in developing part of the city airport solution that so many of us feel needs to happen.

After all, other modestly-sized UK cities – such as Coventry – are well ahead in developing advanced air mobility to decarbonize and drive down the cost of air transport.

As an ‘Ocean City’ which, rightly, has ambition to be an international centre for the marine sector (as well as direct tourism), our travel time to major international airport connections is unacceptable.

Face-to-face relations are vital to driving forward healthy business relationships that involve access to finance, human resources, training, legal agreements and product testing.

For our regional employers and job creators to be connected to the airport connections of Frankfurt,

Amsterdam, Paris, Heathrow, Istanbul, Dubai, Madrid and Dublin or Shannon, etc, within hours not days, should be a realistic ambition.

Equally, travel to most major cities within the UK within four hours should be a goal for our Ocean City’s next-decade economic development.

After all, Newquay (population of 25,000, rising to 100,000 during summer) and Exeter (130,000) achieved such airport connectivity – and held onto it – years ago.

For our area of some 300,000 residents and 5.5 million annual visitors, poor transport connectivity is unviable for so many. A great regional airport fuels sustainable economic growth.

Local business can grow and exploit national and international markets. Tourist activity augments; supply chains fasten and diversify. Entrepreneurial activity and business start-up rates improve. Per capita income increases across the population.

Elsewhere, ‘Airport Cities’ strategies have been successful – both in the UK and internationally – in driving up health research and facilities, exhibitions and tourism, and to introduce aviation and hospitality academies.

I cannot think of many other growing cities – in the UK, Europe or anywhere else – with a population approaching 300,000 (envisaging 350,000 by 2030), and one that hosts some 5.5 million annual visitors... that does not have an airport!

If Exeter, Bristol, Newquay, Southampton and (very recently) Teesside can do it – and many others – surely, so can we?

Cllr Richard Bingley is the Conservative leader of Plymouth City Council.

Reopening Plymouth Airport would be a boost to growth and future investment