Nakata, I don't see why any company would deliberately
of an investment they had made. There must have been circumstances which forced them to sell land to the Royal Mail. The regulatory environment means that BAA cannot cross subsidise capital investment so maybe the land needed to be sold to build the new terminal. Did BAA indeed sell the land, or was it in the conditions of Peter de Savery's clever sale which saw him retain some of the land?
Why the terminal is positioned at right angles to the runway is intriguing. Easy to see with hindsight how this might remove some growth options, but was it oversight or pandering to some other need we have overlooked?
Southampton airport\'s recent purchase of the land North East of the airport makes things interesting. Whilst not directly enabling any runway configuration changes it will create jobs locally and PAX who might use the airport (not to mention put the road through a tunnel and possibly safeguard the land for their own expansion aspirations?):
"
BAA acquires 48 acre Northern Development Site at Southampton Airport
Southampton International Airport Ltd, a subsidiary of BAA plc has acquired the Northern Development Site, next to Southampton Airport, from Gazeley Properties Ltd for £5.75 million.
The 48 acre site has outline planning consent for 800,000 sq ft of office and warehouse development and is currently one of the largest sites zoned for employment uses in the local area. Strategically located on the northeast corner of the Airport, the site will require the construction of a new Link Road around the Airport's perimeter to secure its future development and provide fast and convenient access. The provision of the Link Road will also act as a relief road for Eastleigh town centre providing an alternative route for through traffic. This road is often referred to as "the Chickenhall Lane Link Road".
Commenting on the acquisition, David Cumming, Managing Director of Southampton Airport said:
"This is very important news for the region, because it allows one of the largest employment sites on the south coast to be developed, at a location with superb transport links by air, road and rail.
The Northern Development Site has strategic importance for the future viability of Southampton Airport, enabling it to remain as one of the UK's key regional airports and generator of business and commerce in Hampshire.
We will start immediately to plan how we can develop the site and assess how the new link road can be funded, which will not only provide direct access to the site, but also alleviate local traffic congestion by acting as a relief road for Eastleigh town centre.
We look forward to working with BAA Lynton, our commercial property division, Eastleigh Borough Council and Hampshire County Council over the coming months to bring forward development on this site."
Commenting on the sale of the land, John Duggan, Gazeley's CEO said: "We are pleased to be selling this site to BAA. This allows us to focus on our core business of developing large scale distribution space."
"