Rye News received the following report from Louise Barton of the Lydd Airport Action Group (LAAG) which we thought was worth sharing, it has been reproduced verbatim and in good faith for your information only. We gave the Lydd Airport Management the opportunity to respond to LAAG’s update, their response is at the bottom of this article.
LAAG – LYDD AIRPORT UPDATE 2022
Activity
Passenger activity is non-existent – no passengers were recorded in 2022 (November and December figures still to report) compared to 31 in 2021 (all in July). Aircraft movement (flights in and out), assuming the same flight numbers as in November and December 2021, increased by 36% and were 11% above the 2019 pre Covid level, benefiting from the good weather. The increase was primarily represented by a recovery in private light aircraft, the type of aircraft which has dominated activity at Lydd Aircraft for decades.
Financial Performance
Lydd Airport’s (London Ashford Airport Ltd) 2020 accounts (year to December) were eventually produced in January 2022. They show a further loss of £0.76m, bringing the accumulated losses to £26.3m, an improvement on the previous year when the losses amounted to £1.67m. The airport was closed for part of the year and benefited from government Covid payments.
London Ashford Airport Ltd, Lydd Golf Club and Driving Range Ltd and Fal Aviation UK Ltd are subsidiaries of the Virgin Island based holding company, Lydd Holdings Ltd owned by one of the Al Athel clan. The directors of the UK based companies are four members of the Al Athel family (looks as though it is father and three sons with the father owning the holding company) and these businesses are accepted as “going concerns” only because of their support through the holding company. Note, Lydd Golf Club made a tiny profit with the help of government Covid support, while FAL Aviation made a small loss.
Developments – time’s up for the terminal and other planning matters
The Lydd Airport decision was made on 10 April 2013. Under the conditions handed down with the decisions Lydd Airport had 3 years to begin to lengthen the runway and 10 years to begin to build the terminal. The runway time expired in April 2016 and time runs out for the terminal in April 2023. The airport claimed it had undergone sufficient work on the runway to fulfil the condition to begin work within 3 years – although it has not lengthened the runway – and being cynical, the same is likely to occur with respect to the terminal. But the delays raise questions, and, as we pointed out in last year’s update, no businessman, even a wealthy Sheikh, will sustain losses for ever. Something is bound to occur at the airport site.
Perhaps the best indication that something is brewing is provided by the wording of, and lead up to, the recently signed off Local Plan (Core Strategy in March 2022). This document took years to complete and throughout its gestation period the Airport worked hard through its planning advisors (and lawyers) to have the council include policies that would allow it to continue with the airport’s development and at the same time add other developments.
Should development proposals come forward for the further material expansion of London Ashford Airport at Lydd (beyond the existing permissions and permitted development rights), the council will work with the airport, local community and other stakeholders to prepare and adopt an Area Action Plan for the site. The council will support small-scale operational development integral to, and required to maintain, the airport use, subject to being satisfied that there would be no significant adverse impacts to the integrity of the nationally and internationally designated sites of biodiversity value.
The wording of the policy is ambiguous and contradictory and typically designed to give the airport full latitude to do essentially what it likes, particularly against a background where Brexit is set to loosen environmental protections.
The commercial case for the airport’s large scale development was always weak, but one can “never say never” about development until an application has been withdrawn or voided. The problem with having a weak planning framework is that it emboldens the developer to push boundaries. The consequences of the proposed large scale development of Lydd Airport already went beyond the boundaries of environmental and safety acceptability but this was conveniently ignored by the government for political reasons.
Watch this space!
Louise Barton
Lydd Airport Action Group
News Editors note:
Rather than just publish a one sided article I wrote to the management of Lydd Airport who responded very quickly but with the words
“I have no comment to make.”
Image Credits: Chris Lawson .