Oban Airport

[hoots the scoop]

Hoots the scoop with Oban Airport?

Reported that staff costs were £300,000 against an income of £20,000 and that is on top of the £9 or £10 million pounds it cost to build the darn thing!

[wolfie]

Sounds about right for a council operation.

[Mary G]

It is a bit of a worry in my view. We discussed it here a while back:

http://www.kintyreforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=4488&highlight=kererra

[oorly gourlay]

I had a yarn with the former airport operator last month and admittedly he does have an axe to grind but what he told me beggars belief. The well publicised "wrong" fire engines that are currently subject to a legal dispute have been replaced by one refurbished large fire engine while the dispute is settled, again at more cost. Because of its size, this engine wont fit the purpose built garage in the terminal and A&BC have had to buy a private hangar to house it. You couldn't invent this stuff.

At the end of the day this airport will be a major benefit to Coll and Colonsay folk, giving them easier and quicker access to the mainland and especially for those requiring hospital visits that in some cases can involve a five day trip for a ten minute appointment.

oorly

[Mary G]

major benefit to Coll and Colonsay folk, giving them easier and quicker access to the mainland

Absolutely agree, oorly. And that is - quite rightly - the purpose of the whole investment.

So, given that there are already mainland airports in Campbeltown and Glasgow, where many of these hospital appointments are, (or could be scheduled to be), the principal investment required was on those two islands; Oban investment was not necessary to achieve this objective. Now there may have been other perfectly good reasons for undertaking the investment at Oban, but many of us have yet to hear them. I don't grudge the island communities a penny. They deserve the benefits that will come from having a scheduled air service to their communities, a service enjoyed by virtually every other island their size across Scotland. It is one that has been too long coming, from my perspective, and certainly from the point of view of the islanders who have fought hard to get these services.

The full financial figures are not public, however, lets say that of the reputed £10 million, half was spent at Oban, and £2.5 in each of Coll and Colonsay. Virtually the same benefits could have been achieved by cutting out the whole Oban section. Not only would this have halved the capital costs, but it would now slash the running costs. I had read that they were £200,000 per annum, however 'hoots the scoop' reports that they are £300,000. Either way, that is a big chunk of council budget. If the chief beneficiaries are the people of Coll and Colonsay, they could, with the capital investment already made, be linked to Glasgow directly. Just as Tiree and Islay are already; that would have been a very good outcome, as I understand it. It would be interesting to hear what the islanders view are as things stand now: Would they rather have a direct Glasgow link now, or wait until an Oban one is established at some (as yet unspecified) time in the future?

As for getting pupils home at weekends, then the option always existed (and still exists) for secondary pupils from these islands to do their schooling in Tiree, Islay, Campbeltown, or Glasgow. Each of these places already has a fully licensed airport and so could have been used to fly the children home at weekends. In fact, that option could be pursued now, if the Oban running costs become untenable. The islands are ready - it is the Oban end that is not.

[4th gen Suthen']

That is very good Mary.

Who is responsible for it all? some individual must have given the expensive Oban Airport project the go ahead.

[Mary G]

Cheers, 4th Gen’!

The responsibility is all the Councillors': The buck stops with them.

Ultimately, they authorise projects like this, albeit on the basis of information provided by officers. Even if those decisions are based on details that are subsequently found to be wanting in some respects, eg under-estimating some costs, missing out some options (eg Glasgow or Campbeltown alternative mainland location), or specifications that, as Oorly points out, could be mistaken (fire-engines that don't fit in the bays built for them), it is still the councillors who carry responsibility.

In the case of this project, the decisions were all made by the previous set of councillors, many of whom are not on the Council any more. But the onus is still on the current crop of councillors to scrutinise this project thoroughly, and to establish, whether this expenditure is achieving its objectives for the respective communities, and is value for money for all Argyll & Bute council tax-payers. No point throwing good money after bad, and claiming that it was all the fault of the previous regime. As I have tried to show, there are still some significant, worrying doubts about whether or not this is a good use of public funds.

If it all works out fine in the end - with all services running and a profitable operation at Oban airport - then I will be the first to congratulate everyone. But the lack of information from the Council has coloured the views of many people, and deepens the suspicions that we are not in for a happy ending.

[John S]

Mary, your not exactly being generous with the facts, I'm not entering into a debate on the pros and cons of the airport or indeed the way the project has been managed, but your attempt to brand newly elected councillors with the blame is shallow. At least 1/3 of the new council elected in may 2007 were newly elected.

Funding for the project was approved in 2005, when Labour / Lib Dems were in power at Holyrood, George Lyons was MSP for Argyll & Bute, Allan MacAskill was leader of the council (and main exponent of the project). Blaming "Councillors" for the position is convenient for an opposition politician such as yourself, but the truth is more like, the majority of the decisions which led to the current position can, in my view, be tracked back to a lack of scrutiny when plans were drawn up at that time.

In 2008, putting the Jeanie back in the bottle is not an option, attempting to smear all councillors with the blame is crass. Particularly when your own political masters had more opportunity to call in the project.

[Mary G]

Hey John, I am not trying to "brand newly elected councillors with the blame" as you suggest. If you re-read my post you will see that I quite clearly stated that:

the decisions were all made by the previous set of councillors, many of whom are not on the Council any more

I agree that lack of scrutiny at the time has been a major contributory factor. But that is all history - useful to understand, but we cannot turn back the clock. The issue is what to do now. That needs to be done carefully, and in full discussion with the relevant island communities, and with all the facts and figures made available. The current councillors also need to make sure that we do not ‘throw good money after bad’. That is not an issue of “blaming”; it is the simple truth of public accountability and responsibility that applies to elected representatives across the country.

What I would welcome is a proper review – checking all future funding commitments against the original objectives of improving transport provision for Coll and Colonsay. If it would take, say, £250,000 pa to provide services from the islands to Oban, compared with, say £50,000 to provide services to Glasgow instead (as Tiree and Islay) enjoy - then that Glasgow option must surely be considered very seriously by the Council.

These figures are purely illustrative – I use them to make the point that if we are serious about improving conditions for the two islands, then we need to take the blinkers off, and look at all options. But the general point stands true – it must surely be cheaper to service the islands from established, licensed airports rather that open up a Council funded, Council staffed airport.

[Buzz Lightyear]

Please be careful of what your impressions are on this. There was a lot done when this concept was dreamed up that should never have been allowed, but then individuals did not know any better, not there fault as they dont run airports (council employees) they were ill advised by the wrong people, which has ultimately led to where they are now and the mess they find themselves in.

Be careful about listenin too much to the objectors close to hand at Oban also as there are lots of sour grapes, looking at it objectively i can see why, but there is also an element of 'biting the hand that feeds you'. This has all led to one big sorry mess at Oban, with it now becoming personal between individuals, i am surprised there has not been any 'fisty cuffs' yet!

Thats all i will say on this, could say a lot more but not my place. it will sort itself out, but i will tell you it will never make the money predicted. i can look into my crystal ball and i will tell you what will happen, when it does i will tell you, just dont know when yet........Dundee Airport comes to mind

[Mary G]

You are right, Buzz - some of the early 'advice' seems to have been wanting. But that is all history, and it is up to the current regime to make amends. They need to take a long, hard look at this, and decide whether to 'cut their losses', or develop, and then communicate, a sustainable plan. They have all the details about projected, future costs (cannot get the past expenditure back, sadly).

So they must look again at how best to meet the objectives. And the whole point was not: "open an airport at Oban", if you recall. The purpose was to allow Coll and Colonsay secondary age children get home at weekends, and improve transport links for these two islands to the mainland. You can achieve all of that without an airport at Oban.

[gizmo]

Are the figures we are getting here correct.. 9 or 10 million to build it, 300,000 per year for wages to transport kids home for the weekend and possibly for the odd birdwatcher every now and again..

[oorly gourlay]

Here's an interesting link to Ian (Stone of Destiny) Hamilton QC's web log. Ian lives at North Connel around a mile from the "airport" and I believe that he is also a flier.

http://www.ianhamiltonqc.com/wordpress/?p=287

Personally, I am all for better links for the Argyll islands but for the life of me I can't help but feel that the whole thing could have been done using helipads and included more of the islands such as Jura and Lismore. No doubt this was considered at the time.

oorly

[petewick]

Work near the place, can't say there's much air activity.

[My Favourite Martian]

Work near the place, can't say there's much air activity.

It doesn't take much Googling to find references to Oban on various flying sites, and how pilots appear now to be avoiding the place.