When The Stobart Group announced its purchase of Southend Airport last year, chief executive Andrew Tinkler announced: "Acquisition of Southend Airport is a major opportunity for Stobart to advance the implementation of its multimodal strategy. At one stroke, we have found our southern base and greatly enhanced our position as a leading point-to-point service provider for customers in the UK and Europe who require fast and efficient services by air as part of their logistics solutions."



"At one stroke we have found our southern base" - this is the most dramatic and telling sentence in the announcement. >From Stobart's "greatly enhanced position" its strategic acquisition of the airport is driven by air freight, the core business of Stobart Air, with huge clients such as Tesco shifting high value/low volume goods by air. It is perhaps beginning to dawn on us that the passenger services being mooted are window dressing, primarily in the mix to appeal to high numbers of local residents (and gullible decision makers), not living on the doorstep of the airport and therefore not immediately affected by noise and air pollution and traffic congestion, who will be seduced by the prospect of convenient holiday flights and therefore support the overall proposal.



Also, it would not be surprising, given Stobart's motives, to see their operation occupy the proposed business parks and industrial estates (possibly building aircraft hangars and lorry parks) if and when these properties fail to attract tenants and provide the much trumpeted "seven-thousand new jobs", especially during an economic downturn, or the "decades of austerity" recently promised.



Many local councillors who support the JAAP truly believe that the airport expansion will bring growth and prosperity to the town, even at the cost of blighting the lives of the local community and increase noise and air pollution. Is the Councils' "vision" being driven by vanity? "Jobs at any cost" seems to be the mantra, but there is no proof that these jobs will materialise or go to local people or that prosperity will come to the town or that passenger air travel will increase in a greener age and provide Stobart with meaningful income from take offs and landings, whereas their air freight business will undoubtedly grow as we all buy more high-tech kit for the home (from Tesco and the like).



Further, the "£21m deal" that Stobart signed provides for a tranche of that consideration to be deferred, subject to "the achievement of certain aspects of the airport's developments." This is pretty standard stuff, i.e. I will give you £1m for that plot of land but a third of it will only be payable if planning permission is granted." (It would be hard to see such a deal drawn up if Stobart were buying the airport direct from the Council!) In Stobart's case, they are committed it seems to £16m - and they surely did their sums. One presumes this was an affordable investment to achieve "at one stroke" a southern base, especially as they believe "the Group can achieve synergies [cost savings] from integrating air with its existing operations". It would appear that the remaining £5m will only be payable (to Regional Airports Ltd, previous owners of Southend Airport who acquired it from the local authorities in 1994) if Stobart's planning objectives (which may be the "preferred option" in the JAAP) are achieved. One imagines that, along with Rochford and Southend Councils, Regional Airports Ltd supports the proposals.



What this seems to mean: If the runway extension is not granted, Stobart will probably continue to grow their air freight business in older and noisier planes and still make good on their £16m investment. Night flights, of which I believe 900+ per month are allowed, i.e. 30 a night (!) are possibly being suppressed during the current consultation period, but will soon increase because this is when a lot of air freight moves, i.e. when the skies are clearer of passenger flights and joy riders. If the runway extension goes through, bigger planes can take off and land, potentially increasing income from passenger flights - assuming the business is there - and an increase in air freight capacity at night. I must confess I am not an expert in these matters and have not fully researched aircraft and runways, except to note that a 1799m runway will allow the take off and landing of, let us say, bigger planes. Either way it's a win-win for Stobart, a lose-lose for thousands of local residents, property values and possibly Council Tax returns, and a big gamble for Rochford and Southend Councils.