The plans, passed by Rochford Council, for the new terminal and apron have, in my view, never been sufficiently ambitious and therefore I trust that new plans for a larger facility are in an advanced stage.

The decision to sell airport land for use as a retail park, was very ill conceived. This was the ideal place for a new terminal building and railway station. Furthermore, the demolition of a large part of the reasonably decent terminal, in order to save business rates, was another own goal. However, I suppose we have to accept that without these sacrifices then there would probably not be an airport to discuss.