I refer to the article headed Airport Must Be Sold So It Can Expand (The Argus, February 9).

I am astonished at the report that several parties have expressed interest in committing to a 150-year long lease tied to the continued provision of aviation services and airport regeneration.

In its major review of the future development of air transport in the United Kingdom (Feb 2003), the Department For Transport suggests a possible ultimate capacity of 500,000 passengers per annum for Shoreham Airport on the assumption that no new runways would be provided in the South East.

However, the Government has now decided, in principle, that not only should there be another runway at Stansted but a second additional runway should be provided at either Heathrow or Gatwick. Should it be the latter, the development would not take place until after 2019.

With this in mind, how can any potential developer of aviation facilities at Shoreham Airport reasonably judge the context within which they might operate in the long term?

What financial institution would be prepared to fund the considerable regeneration the airport needs without much more information about its basic future as an airport? This is something only the Government can provide.

In the event Gatwick should get a second runway, the amount of extra aircraft movements could, of itself, place a severe restriction on the numbers of commercial aircraft movements at Shoreham.

Is this situation therefore, not too inhibiting for any potential airport developer? Or might it perhaps be that those who have expressed an interest know full well that, if the two councils are set on selling the airport site, its future as an airport requiring substantial development is really a non-starter?

In this event, development of the site for housing or commercial purposes would, I suspect, be much more lucrative.

Should that happen then, by engaging now in discussions with the two councils, prospective developers would already be well "on the plot".

-JL Morrison, Cuckfield