As always, thanks for spotting this Bagso and for the link. I'm surprised the conference didn't get coverage elsewhere unless I missed it.
If the CAPA summary is a fair balance, the comments of one speaker give cause for concern.
"Simon Bedford, partner at Deloitte Real Estate: has been involved with the MAG Airport City and described it as still being very much ‘embryonic’. The economic geography in this case is suitable but he re-emphasised the point made by Professor Kasarda that not every airport should aspire to have one; the driving force should be a metropolitan strategy and not every airport is situated in a sufficiently large metropolitan area.
There needs to be an economic case made. For example:
That the airport has global connectivity;
That benefits and outcomes are demonstrated;
That a planning case has been put forward and is supported;
That surface transport has caught up with other developments
.
In Manchester’s case there was a failure to get the strategy right from the outset. There was no joined-up strategy in Greater Manchester regarding employment prospects across the wider region and this became a serious political issue."
The bits in bold print are my emphasis. Hopefully, the points he raised are being addressed.
The CAPA report does of course refer to more positive aspects of Airport Cities and Manchester's case. but it's to the credit of the organisers that it was not merely a flag waving exercise.