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Urgent moves to save Shoreham Airport jobs
4:48pm Monday 12th May 2008
Urgent meetings are being held to safeguard scores of jobs at closure-threatened Shoreham Airport.
Councils have been given an ultimatum - sign over the lease to new operators or the airport will shut.
But Brighton, Hove and Worthing councillors are having to make a decision without seeing all the background financial information.
Brighton and Hove City Council, which owns twothirds of the freehold, and Worthing Borough Council, which owns the rest, are being urged to transfer the lease to Albemarle Shoreham Airport Ltd.
The airport went into administration last month after its owners, the Erinaceous Group, was reported to have debts totalling more than £250 million.
Trading in Erinaceous shares was suspended when its price fell to little more than 1p each and accountancy firm KPMG stepped in. The day after Erinaceous went into administration the airport was sold to Albemarle and immediately reopened for business.
A report to councillors said Albemarle had a vested interest in ensuring the airport remained open and seeing the business developed to protect their investment and reputation. But the firm had yet to file accounts that could independently verify its financial standing and was unable to provide a parent company guarantee.
Despite this concern, the councils were reluctant to take back and run the airport at a loss of £500,000 a year.
The administrators also said they would close the airport if the transfer to Albemarle was refused.
Worthing councillor Paul Yallop said: "I got involved in this quite early and I was quite pleased the airport was reopened but it is a difficult situation because we need to make sure the staff in and around the airport do not lose their jobs. The people who are running the airport at the moment are running it on the understanding that they are doing it at their own risk.
"The main problem is the commercial property side of it already appears to have been split apart from the main airport operation. For it to work they need to be together."
On Friday, Brighton and Hove's policy and resources urgency sub-committee met to discuss the transfer of the lease, which officers recommended should go ahead.
Today, a special cabinet meeting was being held at Worthing to work out the best way forward.
Your Say YourArgus
Stroller, Hove says...
6:15pm Mon 12 May 08
Justin, Brighton says...
8:23pm Mon 12 May 08
Fly Boy, Shoreham says...
10:53pm Mon 12 May 08
Angryman wrote:cr*p, this isn't the 70's, nationalisation does not work, and costs us money.... if you want it "nationalised" as you put it, then u pay for it mate with your own money not ours. The only way to safeguard jobs is to give it a free reign to develop, not slap on "listed building" status to a crappy old hanger which was due to be knocked down and a modern building was to replace it. Stupid councils are the ones threatening its expansion and its future. Leave it alone and let it grow you numptys.
Renationalise it!!!!!! Bring it back under the democratic ownership of the local councils!!!!! That is the only way to safe guard the jobs at the airport! If the company threatens the councils like this then they are certainly up to no good and will not be able to offer job security. Do not let the councils be bullied by a private company going under!!!! Doesn't Albemarle own Erinaceous?!!!!!
Allan, Worthing says...
11:50pm Mon 12 May 08
Fly Boi, Shoreham says...
11:54pm Mon 12 May 08
Allan wrote:I say "us" in the general sense if you are being that picky, why should any tax payer pay £500,000 a year when it's a commercial operation and brings little tangible benefit to either council?
Fly Boy, if you are genuinely a resident of Shoreham the Airport hasn't cost you a penny. It was run by Brighton, Hove and Worthing Councils, NOT Adur. Adur have only ever gained by means of their share of Business Rates charged to the businesses at the Airport.
Cecil Pashley, Shoreham says...
9:33am Tue 13 May 08
http://shorehamairpo
rt.forumotion.co.uk/
a forum for people to discuss the future of the airport.
Your sayYourArgus
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Angryman, hard at work says...
5:19pm Mon 12 May 08
That is the only way to safe guard the jobs at the airport!
If the company threatens the councils like this then they are certainly up to no good and will not be able to offer job security.
Do not let the councils be bullied by a private company going under!!!!
Doesn't Albemarle own Erinaceous?!!!!!