I was stunned a year or two ago when the departure board at Bristol Airport showed a flight to Plymouth! But it now seems that Plymouth is leading the way and has CLOSED its airport - permanently. The city should be rightly proud of this very forward-looking action.
23 December 2011 Last updated at 15:43
Protesters had banners
criticising the airport's closure
Protesters have made a last-minute
appeal to keep a Devon airport open on the day it is due to close.
Between 50 and 60 people carrying banners were at Plymouth Airport on Friday morning.
The airport is to close on Friday night after its operator, the Sutton Harbour Group, said that routes from the airfield were no longer profitable.
No aircraft will be able to use the site from 22:30 GMT. The site has been used for flying since the mid-1920s.
The airport was officially opened in 1931 by the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VIII.
The last commercial flight by Air Southwest, the airport's sole carrier, departed in July.
Members of Plymouth City Council, the landowner, voted in August to accept the airport's closure.
Critics of the closure said the move would harm the local economy, affecting business links.
The closure will see the site's last eight staff lose their jobs.
Consequently there are now stirrings about Plymouth's FUTURE transport needs -
Minister backs calls for better rail links
A TOP Government Minister has given her backing for better rail services to Plymouth.
During a visit to the South West yesterday Theresa Villiers, the Transport Minister, promised to "bear in mind" Plymouth's reliance on rail.
"I know there is significant concern about the closure of the city's airport," she said.
"That means it is even more important to do what we can to improve rail services and that is something we will bear in mind."
With just weeks to go until operators are invited to tender for a 15-year rail franchise for the Penzance to London rail service, Mrs Villiers was brought to the region by Sheryll Murray, the MP for South East Cornwall.
But she refused to give a commitment that would guarantee more fast London-Plymouth train services.
"We need to weigh up the needs of all communities," she said. "Some want faster trains, but if that means taking out stops it would be unfair to others."
Mrs Villiers said the bigger decisions on future infrastructure improvements would be made this summer.
Electrification of rail lines elsewhere in the country would mean extra rolling stock transferred to the far South West.
And she denied that Plymouth was being left out for the sake of the £32billion HS2 line to the Midlands and the North.
"It's not a question of HS2 or the rest of the country," she said.
But Mrs Villiers dashed hopes of early electrification of the Devon and Cornwall line, saying the agenda was "progressive electrification, but no date has been set".
David Parlby, chief executive of Plymouth Chamber of Commerce, travelled from Plymouth to Exeter with Mrs Villiers. He said he was able to make the point that it was unacceptable for the 45-mile journey to take an hour.
"There was a heavy sea at Dawlish, which helped to make the point," Mr Parlby said.
He pushed for support for improved rail access to Heathrow Airport from the west. "If we could get a two and a half to three-hour journey from Heathrow that would start to make sense for investors.
"Mrs Villiers made the point that there is not an unlimited budget. But she said a couple of times that 'We've got the message that Plymouth is serious about this'."
Oliver Colvile, the MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, said the next phase of the campaign would be to put pressure on the Treasury to emphasise the importance of rail links for businesses in Plymouth.
He sounded a note of caution about Mrs Villiers's comments on rail improvements.
"It sounds encouraging, but I wouldn't read too much into it."
Cllr Mark Coker, the city's Cabinet member for transport, said: "She was very complimentary about the work of the Plymouth rail task force and accepted the need for more three-hour rail journeys. But she advised us to expand out to the other councils in our area and get them on-side."
Richard Burningham, manager of the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership, who travelled with Mrs Villiers on the branch line to Looe, said: "She gave me a reassurance that the sleeper to London would be included in the franchise. She was very much in listening mode. I think she is the first rail minister to visit this area for a couple of years."
During a visit to the South West yesterday Theresa Villiers, the Transport Minister, promised to "bear in mind" Plymouth's reliance on rail.
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Armand Toms Cornwall Councillor for Looe East Sheryll Murray, MP for South East Cornwall Theresa Villiers, transport minister Richard Pugh, Cornwall Councillor for Pelynt all meet at Looe station
"That means it is even more important to do what we can to improve rail services and that is something we will bear in mind."
With just weeks to go until operators are invited to tender for a 15-year rail franchise for the Penzance to London rail service, Mrs Villiers was brought to the region by Sheryll Murray, the MP for South East Cornwall.
But she refused to give a commitment that would guarantee more fast London-Plymouth train services.
"We need to weigh up the needs of all communities," she said. "Some want faster trains, but if that means taking out stops it would be unfair to others."
Mrs Villiers said the bigger decisions on future infrastructure improvements would be made this summer.
Electrification of rail lines elsewhere in the country would mean extra rolling stock transferred to the far South West.
And she denied that Plymouth was being left out for the sake of the £32billion HS2 line to the Midlands and the North.
"It's not a question of HS2 or the rest of the country," she said.
But Mrs Villiers dashed hopes of early electrification of the Devon and Cornwall line, saying the agenda was "progressive electrification, but no date has been set".
David Parlby, chief executive of Plymouth Chamber of Commerce, travelled from Plymouth to Exeter with Mrs Villiers. He said he was able to make the point that it was unacceptable for the 45-mile journey to take an hour.
"There was a heavy sea at Dawlish, which helped to make the point," Mr Parlby said.
He pushed for support for improved rail access to Heathrow Airport from the west. "If we could get a two and a half to three-hour journey from Heathrow that would start to make sense for investors.
"Mrs Villiers made the point that there is not an unlimited budget. But she said a couple of times that 'We've got the message that Plymouth is serious about this'."
Oliver Colvile, the MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, said the next phase of the campaign would be to put pressure on the Treasury to emphasise the importance of rail links for businesses in Plymouth.
He sounded a note of caution about Mrs Villiers's comments on rail improvements.
"It sounds encouraging, but I wouldn't read too much into it."
Cllr Mark Coker, the city's Cabinet member for transport, said: "She was very complimentary about the work of the Plymouth rail task force and accepted the need for more three-hour rail journeys. But she advised us to expand out to the other councils in our area and get them on-side."
Richard Burningham, manager of the Devon and Cornwall Rail Partnership, who travelled with Mrs Villiers on the branch line to Looe, said: "She gave me a reassurance that the sleeper to London would be included in the franchise. She was very much in listening mode. I think she is the first rail minister to visit this area for a couple of years."
1 comment:
It's a shame Plymouth can't sustain an airport anymore, but hardly surprising. One suspects with only a single operator, this wasn't one of the more active hubs in the West Country, and Exeter will presumably take up the slack (although that "slack" doesn't sound like much).
The government should surely scrap the daft HS2 project and spread the love more widely to areas such as Plymouth, (though if the private sector is financing 100% of HS2, then I withdraw that comment!).
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