STOBART TALKS ‘VERY POSITIVE’
Last updated 11:23, Tuesday, 08 April 2008
CRISIS talks aimed at keeping the Stobart haulage empire in Cumbria were described as “very positive” by both sides last night.
Matthew Legg
Stobart boss Andrew Tinkler met Carlisle City Council leader Mike Mitchelson in a bid to push through a stalled plan to develop Carlisle Airport into a passenger and freight hub and relocate the business there.
The pair will meet again on Thursday where it is hoped 10 still unresolved issues can be ironed out.
The talks follow a threat by Mr Tinkler to abandon the proposal and move his entire business operation – including the iconic Eddie Stobart brand and its hundreds of jobs – to Widnes instead.
That came after he stormed out of a council planning meeting last Friday where approval was given to the plan, but with 63 conditions attached. He said that was “unworkable”.
Mr Tinkler described last night’s summit as a “big step forward”.
Mr Mitchelson said the talks were “very positive”.
Speaking minutes after leaving the meeting at his WA Developments base at Kingstown, Mr Tinkler said he was hopeful a deal will be struck.
He told the News & Star: “There wasn’t anything decided at today’s meeting,
“We went through the conditions we received last Friday, which is the first time we have seen them.
“We are probably down to 10 issues that need hammering out.”
Mr Tinkler refused to say what those issues are.
He added: “We stressed that to make Carlisle Airport viable, and viable for Stobart Group, we need some of the conditions relaxing so that there is investment in the site and it works.
“We are willing to go away and see what they (the council) come up with. We understand the obligations the council has to fulfil and why they have requested certain conditions.
“We have arranged another meeting on Thursday to see if we can get from 10 (outstanding issues) to nothing.”
Stobart Air’s chief concern is a condition that demands the firm install and test a new runway before starting any other building work.
Mr Tinkler says that would scupper his intention to have the Stobart operation on site by February 2009, which, he claims, is crucial to the viability of the site.
A stipulation that no other business than Stobart be allowed to trade on the site is also a key issue.
Questions were also raised over a request that badger deaths on roads around the site be monitored and over conditions where the council appeared to be taking on responsibilities of other agencies like the Civil Aviation Authority.
Mr Tinkler flew a specialist aviation lawyer in from London to help press his case at last night’s meeting, which was also attended by Carlisle MP Eric Martlew.
Mr Tinkler added: “The talks were really worthwhile, I have been asking for a long time for something like this.
“I’m disappointed it had to get this far and that we couldn’t have sat down before together, it’s a big step forward.
“It might have to go back to members, hopefully by Thursday we will know a timetable for that.
“We have adjusted our conditions. We now have to see how much they can adjust on those 10 (still unresolved) points.”
Mr Mitchelson described the talks as “very positive”.
He added: “We covered a lot of ground. We have had to debate around the 63 conditions and really only decisions have to be agreed on 10 of them.
“Some of it is just fine tuning of the wording for clarification and there are one or two issues.
“For the next two days, council planning officers and Andrew Tinkler’s consultants will sit round and thrash out some of the issues.
“There is another meeting on Thursday where we will look at the current position and decide the way forward.
“There was a positive feel to the meeting. Both sides are keen that we work something out to make everybody happy.”
Mr Mitchelson added the application would need to go back in front of the council’s development control committee if any “material changes” were made to conditions, but if not it will be sent on for final approval from the government. The decision cannot be overruled by the full council.
Mr Martlew said: “I still have my fingers crossed. I was there because hundreds of families rely on the Stobart business being in Cumbria.
“There have been mistakes on both sides. The council should have appointed an aviation expert to help with the application and Stobarts have maybe pushed too hard.”
The plan, submitted by Mr Tinkler’s Stobart Air last year, would see a new runway, passenger terminal,warehousing and a new air traffic control centre built at the Irthington airfield. A meeting of the council’s development control committee last Friday ruled it was ‘minded to approve’ the plan subject to 63 conditions.
The application must next be sent to Government Office North West.
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