PLANS for a heliport at Plymouth City Airport have been abandoned, according to the man behind the scheme. Sir Peter Rigby, founder of the Rigby Group which owns Exeter Airport, wanted to open a heliport at the vacant city airport. The group, which owns Norwich and Coventry airports and operates others including Derry and Blackpool, also wanted to operate the helicopter operations links to Flag Officer Sea Training at Devonport Naval Base. The Rigby Group entered into negotiations with airport owner Plymouth City Council (PCC) and leaseholders Sutton Harbour Holdings (SHH), but Sir Peter said he was “disappointed” these talks did not go well. He said: “I was very keen to put a heliport at the airport and I engaged with Sutton Harbour and the council but, unfortunately, there was not the will there to do that.” A spokesman for Sutton Harbour Holdings said the group would “consider any financially substantiated business proposition for the site although to date none has been received from any party.” SHH has previously proposed plans for mixed commercial and residential development on the site of the airport in the north of the city, while Plymouth City Council plans to develop the wider Derriford area. The airport was closed when SHH told the city council it was no longer commercially viable. The council has said the airport could open again if a number of ‘tests’ are met – including an organisation offering proof it could run a commercially viable operation from the site. Raoul Witherall, chairman of campaign group Viable, said: “We are not at all surprised by this outcome. This is not a setback for Viable, we continue to progress our plans to re-open as both a fixed wing and rotary airfield. “We have solid expert evidence of demand for air services for Plymouth and continue to invest in putting together all the elements necessary to re-open the airport in due course.” A spokesman for Plymouth City Council said: We were involved in discussions over a number of months with Mr Rigby. It was clear he was keen to be a tenant at a functioning airport and run his helicopter operation from it. We were enthusiastic about this interest but made it clear he needed to speak to the owners of the airport, Sutton Harbour Holdings to be able to progress this. We do recognise that the Flag Officer Sea Training was an important tenant in the airport and any future plans would need to take this into consideration. Read more: plymouthherald.co.uk/Plans-heliport-Plymouth-City-Airport-scrapped/story-22846727-detail/story.html#ixzz3BsjRyjWc Read more at plymouthherald.co.uk/Plans-heliport-Plymouth-City-Airport-scrapped/story-22846727-detail/story.html#3tizjb05u4clP3q9.99
Posted on: Sat, 30 Aug 2014 13:28:58 +0000
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