A bit of Foundation for Mr Ryan
This is a record of the “verbal Agreement” made between the Tees Valley council leaders and Peel, two months BEFORE the mayoral elections in May 2017. It is SHOCKING both in its intention and in its arrogance.
In it the council leaders promise to give Peel not just one payment of £500,000, but four payments of £500,000 over four years plus an immediate investment of £2 million!
Let me explain something. Peel was sold 75% of the airport shares so that it could use its deep pockets to support and grow the airport for the benefit of the area. It was given, yes given, another 14% for nothing. Since then passenger numbers have plummeted from a high of nearly 1 million to a low of just over 100,000. At the same time Peel have soaked up millions in grants of taxpayers money.
THIS HAS TO BE THE FINAL STRAW. Your local council leaders met in secret and promised to give Peel another £4 million of your money to do the job that it was brought in to do in the first place. It was done before the mayoral election in the belief that the election was a formality that would see Sue Jeffrey elected without any fuss. Fortunately the people of Teesside have finally woken up to the scandal of Peels ownership of the failing airport and voted in someone who has pledged to save it.
Your local council leaders were taken by surprise but have still not learned from it. They still voted to give Peel the first payment of £500,000. The Mayor has said that he WILL NOT AGREE to any of this payment being made. More power to his elbow!
"Draft - as discussed by Council Leaders – March 2017"
CREATING A SUSTAINABLE, FLOURISHING AIRPORT
A DRAFT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME FOR GROWTH AT DURHAM TEES VALLEY AIRPORT
I. Durham Tees Valley Airport is a significant asset for the Tees Valley and its wider catchment area. It provides critical connections for local business, as well as for residents for leisure and to see family and also opportunities for visitors and tourists – inward and outward.
But, in a challenging environment for many regional airports, in recent years it has faced declining passenger numbers. Without joint action and a partnership commitment, the Airport will fail to make a contribution to the ambitions of the Tees Valley’s Strategic Economic Plan, and its long-term sustainability cannot be assured.
The Airport, with Peel Group its majority shareholder, and the Tees Valley Combined Authority share the objective to turn this situation around. We have therefore agreed to jointly invest in a major development programme with the aim of:
• Establishing a growth trajectory for Durham Tees Valley Airport, and ensuring long-term financial sustainability by 2021;
• Retaining existing flights, establishing new routes, and paving the way for the re-establishment of flights to an expanded Heathrow;
• Establishing Durham Tees Valley Airport as a business growth hub, opening up new sites for business to locate near a successful international gateway;
• Developing a successful new community around the Airport, with excellent transport connections and community facilities; and
• Strengthening the partnership between the Airport, Peel Group, the Combined Authority and the Councils, and the wider community.
II. To achieve these objectives, the joint Development Programme ("the Joint Programme") will bring forward and establish the following:
• A stronger role for the Airport in promoting the delivery of the Strategic Economic Plan, the development of key sectors, the UK’s Industrial Strategy, and the attraction of inward investment to the Tees Valley.
• A strategy for route development, targeted at establishing new regular routes by 2021, and promoting a more strategic approach by government to the Regional Air Connectivity Fund or successor fund.
• Paving the way for a new route to Heathrow, in advance of its expansion, and delivering on the government’s commitment that flights to Durham Tees Valley will be facilitated by a Heathrow 3rd runway.
• Influencing national policy, international trade policy, and contributing to Transport for the North’s ambitions for enhanced international connectivity.
• Accelerated delivery of the business sites identified in the Masterplan for the Airport; including:
- an investment of £2 million from Tees Valley’s Capital Investment Plan to open up business sites on the north side of the Airport; and
- further phases of development of the North and South side.
• A proposal to government to establish an Enterprise Zone at the Airport.
• Improvements to the Airport site; including better access from the road network, improved signage, and better facilities for passengers.
• Investment to enhance the use of the airport for freight, with good local facilities and stronger links into national logistics networks.
• Development (with Darlington and Stockton Councils) of simplified planning arrangements, including the option of a Local Development Order.
• Development of a business case for improved surface access to the station, including:
- New rail links to replace the redundant Durham Tees Valley Airport station, and improvements to rail services across the Tees Valley.
- Better bus connections using the powers being made available to the Combined Authority through the Buses Bill.
- Investment in Tees Valley’s key route network, and improvements to the Tees Valley’s East-West road links to the A1(M), expanding the 1-hour catchment area for the Airport.
• Subject to planning permission, the delivery of housing proposals for the Northside of the Airport, including the delivery of infrastructure, site preparation and public realm.
• Support for initiatives to enhance skills levels and contribute to the Tees Valley’s skills and employment objectives, by developing high quality apprenticeships and training programmes in the aviation engineering sector and associated careers.
A marketing and promotion budget, to establish Aero Centre Tees Valley as a compelling business proposition, to raise awareness of the Airport and the business opportunities arising from investment on the site.
III. Resources and Accountability
This Joint Programme will be subject to review as to its progress and objectives by the Chairman of Peel Airports, Robert Hough, and the TVCA but without prejudice to the individual responsibility of any company, body or authority for its particular role or duty in any relevant subject area. Reports will also be made regularly to the Tees Valley Combined Authority Cabinet.
The Joint Programme will be overseen on a day-to-day basis by the Managing Director of the Tees Valley Combined Authority, working with an assigned specific DTVA Development Director based at the Airport. The Development Director will play a full and active role in the Tees Valley’s business community and also provide leadership for the Airport's development programme, supported by the wider Airport and Peel management resources. The Development Director will also join the Tees Valley Combined Authority’s Transport and Infrastructure Group, alongside other partners such as Network Rail and Teesport, in support of the Tees Valley’s wider ambitions for local, national and international connectivity.
To develop the full range of proposals for the Joint Programme set out above, the Tees Valley Combined Authority will make an immediate commitment of £0.5 million a year for the four years ending March 2018-2021, from its Development Fund (separate and additional to the £2M investment referred to in Section 2 above). This will be matched by an equivalent commitment from DTVA, with Peel Group as its majority shareholder also providing expertise and development capacity as required. The partners will consider the appropriate vehicle for the delivery of this programme, for example, as a formal or informal partnership, or joint venture, underpinned by a more detailed partnership agreement.
The partners will wish to see and jointly consider the case for a further extension of this programme beyond 2021, as its value is demonstrated."
PLEASE " SHARE" .........all the people of TEESSIDE and surrounding areas need to see this !