Sischer Gauge stamp out wheel balancing weights for BMW. Hardly cutting edge. The only other companies moving into the area recently have been packaging companies. Price and Orphin in Netown is closing down. I can't think of a single high tech employer with more than 10 employees in the area other than Control Techniques (my old employer for 3 years).
I just CANNOT see how Welshpool airport being bigger would clinch any business deal for the area.
If it did then I agree - 10 jobs at a flying school lost would be a good deal if it brought 100 jobs to the area.
It seems self evident to me that the WDA DBRW or whatever the same old faces are called this week should invest in high capacity IT links not high capacity aviation links.
The high quality of living available in the area couple with its remoteness suggests you should be looking to get high net worth professionals into the area able to work remotely. Spend some money getting Welshpool, Newtown and Llandrindod a digital fibre optic exchange, microwave datalink and give the area Broadband. THAT might get you a small software house or a legal consulting firm into the area.
In my opinion the focus is too far on large and medium sized employers. They always have the muscle to screw a very good deal out of the council. They also continue to have muscle to get what they want for years to come. How many times have CT threatened to quit the area?!? Loads.
What you want is lots and lots of small businesses who are rooted to the area for better reasons than the best grant aid status. Broadband datalink would help facilitate this much better than another 2000ft of tarmac on the Severn valley.
If ONLY the parties could have agreed to keep the school whilst extending to accomodate increased business useage
Best of both worlds.
If you take a 40 mile arc of Hawarden, Sleap and Shobdon then EGCW really only has a catchment of Newtown, Llandrindod and Welshpool. Thats just not enough GDP to support a business airport in my amateur economists opinion.
Bladeslapper, I am Welshpool born and bred and all my family are there. I will be stumbling up and down that High St all weekend and many of my best mates live on it. I meant no disrespect to the area - I would move back in a shot IF there was any serious aviation there. Which I don't think there ever will be. Unfortunately.
Whirly - you don't need lights to fly day VFR. A strobe unit for a PA38 costs £130. The 45hr PPL course cost <£3000. Some of the aircraft only ever flew day VFR. QED.
EVERYBODY hates flying school owners. TB is no exception. What he did not do was be like one FTO (well known in the business) who took students money whilst mortgaging the aircraft then went bust leaving instructors unpaid and students with useless shares in aircraft owned by banks and lost training funds.
What he did not do was like SFT that was taking large advanced sums of students only days before they went bust.
He paid reasonable money, on time and supplied you with a steady stream of students. As a PPL instructor that is
a good deal and anything else is a bonus.
An air race, an aerobatics competition, 300 GA movements a day in summer, 60 PPLs a year, a packed maintainence hangar... all gone with TB.
Lets hope BJ brings it all back plus a couple of Kingairs/BE200/Citations/GulfstreamV's!!
WWW