Plymouth City Council is exploring the idea of reopening the city’s airport nearly a decade after it closed.
The local authority has asked the Government’s newly formed Airfield Development Advisory Fund for help to obtain a clear picture of what level of investment would be needed to reopen the airport for commercial passenger services.
The council has also appointed a specialist aviation consultant to approach potential operators to assess the market appetite for a private sector company to restart flights.
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It is also continuing discussions with the Sutton Harbour Group, which owns the long lease on the 113-acre site via a wholly-owned subsidiary known as Plymouth City Airport Ltd.
The Airfield Development Advisory Fund has been set up by the Government to guide future airport development.
The advisory fund is managed by the Department for Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority and administered by ICF, a global consulting and digital services provider.
The advice available to the council includes planning and conservation policy, accountancy, business model development, marketing strategy and innovation.
Council leader Tudor Evans said: “This new fund is just a month old but it has been set up specifically to offer advice. We said we would explore any options, ideas and opportunities which come our way and that’s what we are doing.
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“We’ve all seen the aviation industry change dramatically over the last year and who knows what direction it will take.”
The Plymouth City Airport site, at Derriford on the northern edge of the city, has been when SHG triggered a so-called “Armageddon clause” enabling it to stop flights if the airport was deemed uneconomic.
The Derriford site has been disused ever since, and SHG later produced a plan to turn it into a mixed-use housing-led “garden suburb” estate called Plym Vale.
But planning inspectors stalled development of the site until 2024 via the Plymouth and South West Devon Joint Local Plan.
Many business leaders and Plymouth City Council leader Tudor Evans have, however, said they would like to see the site reopened for aviation.
Since SHG fell into the hands of Canadian businessman Phil Beinhaker, in early 2018, the firm has prioritised its waterfront interests, particularly its .
In a report to investors in July 2020 SHG said it was refining proposals for an alternative use for the site. It gave scant details of what that plan may include, but said it would be designed to meet the “social and economic needs” of the city and was described as “deliverable”.
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The report said: “As previously reported the site is safeguarded from development until 2024. The group continues to refine proposals for deliverable alternative use of the 113-acre site which meet the social and economic needs of Plymouth.”
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Plymouth City Council’s five tests were set out in 2012. It said any potential airport operator needs to address the following tests:
To acquire ownership of the airport and associated infrastructure.
To operate without the need for public subsidy.
To have an ongoing commitment to air services.
To have a fully-funded long-term business plan.
To clearly evidence public demand for Plymouth air services.
Government planning inspectors supported the council’s approach, the local authority said, which was confirmed with the adoption of the Joint Local Plan in March 2019.
The site was , with specific policies agreed to safeguard the site for aviation uses until the next review of the plan.