Public events Saturday on future of Newquay Airport Cornwall

Cornwall Council’s Conservative administration has buckled under the pressure of criticism it faced from business leaders and opposition councillors over a perceived lack of consultation on a deal to find a financial partner to run Newquay airport.

The council is now holding meetings with Cornwall Chamber of Commerce as well as two public events on Saturday in Truro and Newquay to discuss the future of the airport, which could see private company Adynaton Asset Management LLP taking a large slice of the 650-acre estate, which includes Aerohub Business Park, the Spaceport, Kernow Solar Park and 200 acres of land

If agreed, the company would also take over the running of the airport which has always proved costly for the council and is subsidised by the taxpayer to the tune of around £4.8m each year.

The new chief executive of Cornwall Chamber of Commerce wrote to Cornwall Council in July calling for it to immediately suspend any plan for a partnership deal. In a strongly worded letter, John Brown slammed the council for not consulting the business community and making a decision on the future of the airport and its estate behind closed doors which was “both unacceptable and opaque”.

In the same month, 25 cross-party councillors (Independent, Liberal Democrats, Conservative, Labour and Mebyon Kernow) lodged a call-in of the Cabinet decision to back the partnership due to lack of stakeholder consultation with the business community, insufficient information and policy departure. The call-in was rejected “in fairly blunt terms” according to the council’s deputy leader and Tory councillor David Harris.

A Land Use Blueprint (LUB) for the project is now being used as the basis for a two-week consultation on the proposals, which began on Thursday with engagement with Cornwall Chamber of Commerce and continues with two public events on Saturday.

Members of the public can see the airport plans in Newquay and Truro this Saturday (Pic: Cornwall Council)

Cornwall Council has specified that the future development of the airport should:

• Establish a viable and robust regional airport
• Create opportunities for employment at all levels
• Maximise the economic impact of the airport
• Ensure the continuing operation of Cornwall Airport Newquay
• Minimise the financial burden on the Cornish taxpayer
• Attract investment to the airport estate
• Present a plan for making airport ground operations carbon neutral.

The blueprint for the airport site includes:

• A new commercial and public terminal building and adjacent complementary development
• Expansion opportunities for independent maintenance and storage hangars
• A green power and energy zone, including a large-scale battery energy storage system
• The expansion of Spaceport Cornwall and adjacent advanced manufacturing park
• A logistics park with development plots suited to large-format distribution warehouses
• A research and development hub with modern office accommodation
• Extensive woodlands and grasslands allowing for bio-diversification and public access amenities.

Cornwall Chamber of Commerce, which was previously critical of Cornwall Council about a lack of consultation over the airport plans, has now had meetings with the local authority and the likely financial partner (Pic: Cornwall Council)

Cllr Louis Gardner, portfolio holder for the economy at Cornwall Council, said: “These plans represent our ambitious vision for the site while adhering to our red lines for the project. We will now be consulting widely with the business community and with different stakeholders across Cornwall, while also hosting public events and allowing people to have their say online.

“I emphasise again, there is no agreement in place to proceed with a joint venture, negotiations are still taking place ahead of a final decision this autumn, and the views we receive during the consultation will help inform that.”

Members of the public can take part in the consultation by dropping in to talk to members of the project team at New County Hall, Truro, between 9am and noon on Saturday, September 14 and from 1pm to 4pm at Newquay Library on the same day.

You can also view more details on the plans and have your say by visiting the Let’s Talk Cornwall website: https://letstalk.cornwall.gov.uk/airport

The council and Adynaton have had two meetings with Cornwall Chamber of Commerce this week. Mr Brown said: “Cornwall Council has worked to bring stakeholders together specifically to address private sector concerns raised through the Chamber. We appreciate the commitment to these consultations, and it remains crucial that this spirit of openness continues throughout the development of Cornwall Airport Newquay.

“The Chamber firmly believes that ongoing transparent consultation and debate are essential to ensuring that the future of Cornwall Airport Newquay benefits the entire Duchy and that the development of the site is conducted with input from both the private sector and local citizens.”

The airport served 440,000 passengers in 2023/24 and provides about £72m Gross Value Added (GVA – the value of goods and services produced in a region, industry or sector) contribution to the Cornish economy annually. In terms of the overall estate, about 14 companies currently employ over 448 people, with 720 jobs directly dependent upon activities on the airport estate. Newquay airport also provides strategic operational capability for the Ministry of Defence.

Any future development will be subject to the usual planning process and related consultation and application process.