Oban Follies
The A&BC applied for a Code 2 runway licence for Oban assuring the CAA on
the licence application form they either owned or controlled all the areas
required for the licensed runway. This was despite the fact that the
council's then development manager, Peter Jackson, pointed out in an email
to the council's legal department the Argyll Aero Club had a lease for 25
years on an area of ground that covered a significant part of the runway
strip adjacent to the 01 threshold. It is an offence to provide false
information, whether knowingly or not, for the purpose of obtaining an
aerodrome licence.
The CAA granted the Code 2 licence and then the council set about trying to
push the club off their leased area and ignoring the signed and recorded
lease document. After several months the club raised a legal action of
declarator in the courts asking the court to make a formal ruling on their
long standing lease with the council. The court totally upheld the club
lease and its terms and said it was absurd that the council should try to
ignore it.
The club then looked to the council to come to an agreement for the
resumption of any part of the leased area that they, the council as the
licensee, required for their Code 2 licence. Amazingly the council continued
to bully and tried to tough it out and attempted to raise the club's rent
for the leased area by sixfold. The club resisted and threatened further
legal action and obtained from the court a legal undertaking that the
council would not enter the area concerned without the express permission of
the club - the council broke that undertaking within a week and the club was
being harassed on a daily basis. By that point the had club spent about £15K
on legal fees which they are still seeking reimbursement for from the
council. Eventually the club committee took a decision to fence the area at
the western perimeter of their leased area. When this happened the CAA
immediately revoked the Code 2 runway licence and replaced it with a Code 1
runway licence.
It was expected that the CAA would prosecute the council for knowingly
providing false information on the licence application as they would should
a pilot provide false information in order to obtain a flying licence or
medical etc. To date nothing has happened but since March 2010 the director
of the department responsible for the airport and the licensing process and
two heads of service (including the head of legal services) have lost their
jobs within the council.
Who knows what will happen next ?
WW