I suspect rising costs is going to drive other regulars away, which is such a shame,
Is this the beginning of the end of Barton as we know it? There has been lots of speculation about Peel's future plans for the site, but could the price increases be a way of killing off the airfield slowly leaving way for the bulldozers?
Picky you could well be right. If you read Redeye's message under 'Sheffield City Airport Doomed' just tippex out 'Sheffield' and substitute 'Barton' in the header when it comes to the viability of the land as an airfield.
Rising costs have already driven a number of regulars away from Barton, a few more are getting ready to vacate the field, others are looking. Blackpool is becoming the hot favourite.
Costs at Barton are now set to rocket. From 1st April Barton has been run as though it were a major airport with all the attended high operating costs that that brings.
At the end of the day Barton is still a grass field operating in daylight hours with no navigation facilities and hangars which leak. The whole lot does need bulldozing, but would it ever be rebuilt to serve GA and what would the costs be then? But for the prices now being asked, people can and are going elsewhere and are finding that it can be cheaper than staying at Barton.
The BAOL staff have reportedly granted themselves pay rises roughly ranging £2000-6000+, for doing the same job. LAC/LPL staff not transferred to the new company are not getting any increase and are pi$$ed off. Air traffic control is reported to be costing around £150,000 a year with two new positions being created of Airfield Duty Officers each on an annual salary of £21,500. All this and more has to be paid for in the long run by income generated by the airfield users. MSCD have agreed to reimburse the running costs of the airfield, but as with Sheffield, will presumably only stand the losses for a set time. MSCD/Peel is not a charity. Hope no one has taken out a long term mortgage on the strength of their new job.
Figures being banded about indicate that MSCD/Peel need to get around £600,000 pa. To this end the resident businesses are having to dig deep. The two helicopter operators are earmarked to pay around £17,000-£25,000 pa each. The microlight school also a high figure. LAC flying school now has to find around £75,000 and the engineering department is reported to be up for £10,000 as airfield utilization - for taxiing aircraft around on the grass, as someone said.
LPL Ltd is loosing around £20,000 per month, a fact admitted by the Treasurer. The company is trading insolvent as also admitted by the Treasurer.
Now where is that Report on Barton's viability? In fact let's save them the trouble. It ain't financially viable and what's more MSCD/Peel already know that.