But you miss the point. There is no flat land near the M1/M62 interchange. Flat land is all to the east of the region. The RAF airfields are all in the east/north east, far away from any core catchment area.
Whilst I do not disagree that LBA is in the wrong position for all the reasons you give - it is however nothing that nobody already knows, but as one of the largest GDP producers in the country, Leeds can sustain its own airport, it should not need to depend on MAN as its local airport, and DSA is at the wrong side of the Yorkshire and Humber economic region anyway. LBA does handle 3m pax a year, it is a profitable going concern, with proven sustainable growth, it provides air transport into the Leeds City Region, so much so it was purchased by a private equity company as an investment opportunity. LBA's issues in the main come from poor decisions in the 60's, and a lack of continued investment, nevertheless, that investment is now being unlocked, with careful attention, a number of current issues can be quashed. LBA will never be perfect, many parallels can be drawn to Bristol Lulsgate, which with careful investment has shown potential to be a fine asset to the SW region. I fail to see the parallel with your hospital in Hampshire -where does this impact the growth of that economic region? I feel your comments are valid, not anything new, but your argument is only one sided and is viewed from a broad brush perspective with a lack of local knowledge..