http://www.leedstoday.net/ViewArticl...icleID=1773114
SENIOR councillors are expected to give their backing to a sale of Leeds-Bradford Airport which will net West Yorkshire councils a windfall worth tens of millions of pounds.
And if the sale goes through the airport at Yeadon – which in July alone attracted over 309,000 passengers – could be in private hands next year.
The airport is owned by West Yorkshire's five district councils with Leeds and Bradford each holding 40 per cent of the stake and the remaining 20 per cent split equally between Wakefield, Kirklees and Calderdale.
While council officials are reluctant to reveal the amount of cash a sale could raise, local authorities in the North East shared £194m when they sold a stake in Newcastle Airport three years ago.
The YEP revealed last year that Leeds City Council's ruling Conservative-Liberal Democrat-Green coalition was considering a possible sell-off.
Consultants Ernst and Young were hired to provide financial and legal advice and the council's executive board, which meets next Wednesday, is being recommended to support an outright sale.
If other shareholders do not agree, a report to the board says Leeds should try to participate in a sale of at least 60 per cent of the airport which would allow the city to dispose of its 40 per cent holding.
Passenger numbers are expected to continue to grow over the next 10 years and significant investment will be needed to improve services, terminal facilities and road and rail access.
Hard-pressed councils could struggle to raise that cash. Supporters of a sale say local authorities would receive much-needed money and argue the private sector would be better placed to raise the cash.
Opponents, particularly some Labour councillors, are likely to claim it smacks of "selling the family silver".
The report to the board says that Ernst and Young indicated that "there is currently a significant appetite in the market for regional airports like Leeds and Bradford".
It adds that any transaction would need to be completed "on a timely basis".
The airport would be marketed internationally with bids and business plans to be submitted by next February. Councillors would then select a preferred bidder in March or April and officers would be left to negotiate the final sale.
The report says discussions have been held with the other shareholders who had indicated support for a form of sale