FA
Thanks for the reponse. More details for you.
I was at the meeting and the Chair of the HPA absolutely tore the Deputy CC to shreds. The critiscism of charges by Bob Purkiss was very important. He's the liaison person between HPA and Special Ops, who are responsible for the Air Support unit who manage the a/d. Bob complained that the figures were not honest, Deputy CC objected to that term, saying that it implied that they were dishonest. The word "credible" was then substituted.
You know, I know, and now HPA have confirmed that they know that the figures in the report are rubbish. We now have detailed consultation with the Finance Committee at which we will be able to argue the case. I anticipate that the outcome will be charges that are in line with what would be available in the commercial market for runway acess at an unlicensed a/d and will take into account the level of facilities provided. You'll I'm sure appreciate (as did HPA) that a comparison with international airports such as Bournemouth, Southampton or Lydd with ILS, Customs & Immigration, Fuel, Parking, Hangarage, Rescue & Fire Fighting, Full ATC etc etc is totally out of order.
There are 3 police Islanders in the country, Cheshire have one and I believe Newcastle has the other. Using the Freedom of Information Act I obtained costs for Cheshire earlier this year showing that they pay ca 8.5k for runway access and 46 k p.a. for accommodation, rates, light heat & power. These figures were presented at the meeting by Sean Woodward, who is a member of HPA and bring into question whether HC should be operating the a/d if they claim it costs them ca 230k a year.
Other things going on. MCA, part of DfT, who own the a/d have called in the CAA. Two Senior Aerodrome Inspectors were there on Monday and Tuesday and I was invited over to talk with them. It would be wrong of me to anticipate the conclusions of their report but the fact that MCA initiated it indicates that they are concerned about what the Police are up to and are taking action.
I have someone who wants to base an a/c at Lee for a few months for hours building and I'll be personally dealing with that. It'll make a good test of whether HPA's teeth have worked.
Last week I met with SEEDA and I'll be participating in an aviation workshop with them on site later this month.
Mike