Originally Posted by
davidjohnson6
Do the council and voters want the land to remain as an airport, and how much will they insist on this ? Would central Govt 'call in' an application for change of use, and would such a change of use be allowed by Westminster ?
IF, and it's a big if, the current owners fail, and the ownership of the lease was put up for sale, the local authority would first have to increase the term of the lease. It is commercially unviable to enter into a lease of less than 100 years and most investors would want 125 years minimum.
When deciding on whether to increase the term of the lease the local authority will have the opportunity to reassess the benefit of the airport to the local community. A new housing estate with a dedicated train station is what town planners dream of at night.
Is SEN currently seen as priority national infrastructure? Does government care about the Essex outpost and what goes on there? Not sure either way.
There is a long way to go yet, and I'm betting on a SEN revival, but if the future is dependent on a bank board of directors, anything is possible.