The future for Club & light a/c at Biggin

[pasir]

Repeating the theme that inadvertantly appeared elsewhere -
The controllers of Biggin are constantly seeking to overturn the condition of their lease from Bromley Council in order to allow larger jet traffic movements in and out - and especially to operate scheduled services and extension of operating hours into late night and early mornings etc. With a restriction on the total number of a/c movements allowed and in the event that permission be granted to the above then have the Club and private operators any reasons to be concerned about their future at Biggin ?


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[Sir George Cayley]

There's a general squeeze on light GA access to most south east airports especially in the run up to the Limpdics; BH have made application to the planners on this.

The number of private strips that flourish seems to bear witness to migration, which has the effect of diminishing the returns and making light GA even less attractive.

There are thankfully some notable exceptions such as WW and Elstree but wait and see if Redhill get their hard runway and the effect on pootlers.

Sir George Cayley

[Danscowpie]

It appears to me that the vast majority of residents and local councillers in the vicinity of Biggin Hill have no idea what contribution the airport makes to the local economy.
OK, it's nothing like the amount that a larger regional airport could, but there are some very "high net worth individuals" who use Biggin because it meets the needs of their business bases in the local area.
These businesses, many of which are not based on the airport but in the regional development area, make a very valuable contribution to the local economy.

My points are thus:

1. Remove the flexibility of these people to operate within reasonable parameters from Biggin, and they'll go elsewhere. If they have to go elsewhere there's a good chance that they'll take their business with them.
2. Remove their business and the business rates go with them.
3. Remove their business from the airport and the associated jobs and possibly the business, also go. So does the the business rates to the council and income to the airport.

I don't imagine that Biggin Hill Airport will ever close, but I can see a situation where, eventually, many of the high income earners for the owners are driven away by the ignorance of the local community and by association, the lack of willingness of local politicians to have the backbone to support the establishment.

Unfortunately, as ever, the G/A community will have very little say in what happens as their economic contribution is comparatively small.
Your only solution is to get your chequebooks out, which is, once again, extremely unlikely.

[jollyrog]

Isn't this scaremongering?

Biggin provides an excellent service to light & GA. Yes, the landing fees are high in comparison to most places, but I can honestly say that in the three years I've been based there, my every need has been catered for.

Bromley council is resolute in their policy of not allowing expansion and this has been tested all the way through the legal sytem. The likelyhood of Biggin overturning these judgements is somewhere between nil and nil.

Therefore, the status quo is likely to remain and the question is irrelevant.

[pasir]

.... Its not a matter of local residents pressing to have Biggin closed. Most airports seems to have a small clique that will constantly press to have their local airfield closed or restricted but the situation at Biggin is a little different. Biggin has grown out of all proportions in recent years with quite large hangers appearing and larger jet traffic - much to the concern of locals and especially those within several miles of flight path - to the extent that a special anti airfield association has been formed to have Bromley Council reminded of the conditions of the lease that they granted to the airfield operator. This is due to the the airport operators constant applications to have hours of operating extended into late night ops, The tragic crash of a light business jet onto houses on nearby Farnborough village - applications for a 100 bed airport hotel and applications to grant Olympic air traffic landing rights - all adding to the anit-airport associations fears that Biggin could be destined to becoming
a Luton look-alike - All of this together with the realisation that the operators are constantly seeking permission to operate scheduled services has given the association every reason to have such fears. The recent dismissal of an application refusing Olympic traffic into Biggin is largely due to that associations efforts - who had valid reason to fear that had permission been granted - would have set a precendent that could lead to scheduled services.

The owners of the Airport - Bromley Council - while professing to be
acting in the interests of local residents have been less then enthusiastic in that role and are seen by the anti-airfield movemenent as hand in glove with
the current operator.
This view was strengthened when Bromley Council sought to have each 1000 signatures petition regarded as just ONE signature.

And so with the airport operator constantly appealing to have terms of the lease overturned - alloting as many movements as possible to larger more lucrative jet traffic - the question is asked - Is the writing on the wall for Biggins Club and light a/c operators and owners ?

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