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Post by roche on Jul 23, 2008 20:18:28 GMT
Wasn't sure what to call this thread, so went for the tried and trusted 'Progress'. I see that the airport authority are taking advantage of there being no Ford flights for a couple of weeks and using the time to make some improvements. On Monday and Tuesday of next week there will be reduced distances on 06 and 24 due to taxiway Alpha being resurfaced from the Flightcentre up to holding point A1. Work will also be going on between Holding point A1 and the 24 undershoot. The ILS and Papi's will not be in use while this work is taking place. If I remember correctly, they did some work at the same time last year which resulted in reduced distances for a few days.
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Post by expressflight on Jul 29, 2008 13:46:59 GMT
Other than the taxiway resurfacing, any idea what the work involves in the 24 undershoot area? Are they doing something to the arrester bank?
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Post by SEN OBS on Jul 30, 2008 9:37:35 GMT
Why are RAL investing further in SEN, if a sale is immenent.
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Post by expressflight on Jul 30, 2008 12:39:28 GMT
If you offer a business for sale and attract bidders, you are obliged to continue running the business in exactly the same way as you would if you were not selling it.
If, for example, the CAA said that some work needed to be done at the earliest covenient time to ensure continued compliance with the aerodrome licence you would have to do it even if it cost you a substantial sum. Also you could not , say, reduce the operating hours to save staff costs as that would fall foul of the due diligence procedures that have to be followed during the sale process.
You would obviously not start an entirely new project, unless the prospective buyer agreed to cover the costs should his bid be successful. An example of that could be preliminary work on the rail station site to ensure that the construction work could be completed during the Railtrack 'access window' allocated for the work.
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Post by Lewis on Jul 30, 2008 17:45:03 GMT
Its good that the bottom end of A has been repaired, but what of the top corner as you approach the apron. Thats equally as bad? I see that the decision to approve 50% more flights from LCY has been postponed by Boris in order to see how the Thames Gateway proposals are going. Will this be anything to do with Southend as well?
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Post by roche on Jul 30, 2008 20:22:14 GMT
I would imagine that the reason they haven't resurfaced taxiway A from the Flightcentre down to the existing apron is because that's where the new apron will be laid and the taxiway will be routed around the new apron. The decision to delay the decision re the extra flights at LCY must be really disappointing for them. The BBC London website reports that the Mayor wants the delay until a NATS study, commissioned by the Department of Transport, has looked at how the proposed expansion might impact on the town planning case for the Thames Gateway Bridge proposals - sounds as if it could take a while.
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Post by expressflight on Aug 17, 2008 9:25:25 GMT
RAL are organising coach tours of the airport and its associated industrial area on 29 and 30 August. The trips will take place throughout the day in each case.
These will take approximately one hour and are aimed at showing the local populace exactly what happens at the airport "behind the security fencing" as they put it.
This information, plus a booking form, is reportedly available on the SEN website but I have not been able to find it there.
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Post by roche on Aug 17, 2008 9:39:18 GMT
The announcement about the tours is in the 'Press Releases' section, along with a link to the booking form.
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Post by southendobserver on Aug 17, 2008 16:40:04 GMT
I wonder how much could be learnt from these tours, and what RAL consider the purpose of them. I would have thought they would be looking to receive backing from the locals who take up the tour offer. The was a article in The Southend Daily Times telling us of Leigh council voting against expansion. It seemed to be after a potentially biased meeting. The paper reported that half a dozen residents turned up. They all seemed to be expressing concern over expansion.
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Post by expressflight on Aug 18, 2008 6:57:56 GMT
I wouldn't place too much importance on the Leigh Council vote, whether artificially biased or otherwise. Considering that any runway extension will be directing traffic straight at their constituents, it's perhaps surprising that 3 councillors voted for expansion rather than that 6 voted against.
The obvious aim of the tours is to improve PR with the populace and to show the wide range of activities undertaken and the employment that SEN currently provides. If it helps people understand better the value of the airport to its community, it can only be a good thing.
I think RAL could have done more in the past on the PR side of things. Norwich, for example, used to organise day trips to European destinations which meant that locals had the opportunity to actually use their airport. RAL could have done this at SEN but considered it too expensive when it was suggested 18 months ago. I hope the tours mark the start of better engagement with the region's residents.
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Post by southendobserver on Aug 18, 2008 18:44:32 GMT
It seems to be looking even more unlikely that an airport hotel is built. From the Echo:
164-bed luxury hotel planned DEVELOPERS have announced £18million plans to build a luxury hotel and two office buildings in Rochford.
The proposal, by Charter Project Development is to build an exclusive 164-room hotel and offices on land within the site of the Athenaeum Health Club, in Aviation Way.
Managing director Nigel Baylis said the five-storey hotel would provide high quality accommodation in the area and be ready in time for the London Olympics in 2012.
He explained: “There is a dire need for a quality four star plus hotel, something we just do not have at the moment.
“There are some big players such as RBS and KeyMed who have high status individuals and investors and international buyers visiting, and there is nowhere for them to stay.
“They have to go to London for suitable accommodation. This hotel will fill a gap in the market. It will be of top quality design and finish with a radial frontage.
“It will also fit in with the burgeoning businesses along Cherry Orchard Way with the development of the airport. Soon there will be a station at the airport to take people into London. With the Olympics coming visitors and athletes, including those for the biking event at Hadleigh Castle, will have somewhere to stay.”
The hotel would boast executive suites on the top floor and be operated by Copthorne Millennium hotels, which owns prestigious hotels across the country including Kensington, Mayfair and Knightsbridge, in London.
It is likely to cost about £12million and feature a restaurant, open to the public, a ballroom function room for up to 400 guests and an extensive business suite with conference centre and exhibition space.
The four-story office buildings would provide 20,000 sq ft of space and feature courtyards for staff to use.
The total development is expected to cost £16million to £18million and create around 220 jobs. It would include a lake and landscaped areas, parking, and an access road on the Cherry Orchard Way roundabout.
Humphrey Squier, chairman of Rochford Chamber of Trade, said: “Quality development in the right place is something the area is going to need in the future, as the area action plan for the airport is being discussed. We are supportive of options which recommend high growth in the area.”
The area is undergoing huge growth plans at the moment with new car showrooms being created at Cherry Orchard Way and ongoing discussions on the airport’s plans.
Rochford District Council has received the plans and if it approves the development building work, could start as early as spring next year, with the complex ready for opening by mid 2011.
Developer Mr Baylis and the company he runs with his son, Lloyd Charter Project Development, are also behind plans for art deco apartments at The Leas, Chalkwell.
It looks like the end for the Southend Airport 4 star hotel. With plans on hold. I suppose it could be used at SENs advantage. IT would save the new owners a job, and possibly some car parking spaces if built.
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Post by roche on Aug 18, 2008 21:05:58 GMT
It's certainly an interesting development, but I'm not convinced that it will impact the plans to build an hotel at the airport and in fact may compliment them. Currently in the Southend/Rochford area there are very few high quality hotels Clearly, their aim is to have this hotel opened and established in time for the Olympics.
However, beyond the 2012 Olympics this hotel with its proposed conferencing facilities and a banqueting suite capable of holding 400 people, opens up other opportunities which could benefit both the airport and the surrounding area. The town has been crying out for 4 star hotels and with the potential of a cluster of them around the airport, it opens up the possibility of hosting conferences, exhibitions and training courses for various companies, with participants flying in to the airport or arriving via the airport station. Even on a small scale, this is a very profitable business and could be of benefit to the whole area. I wonder if the council will see it that way?
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Post by expressflight on Aug 21, 2008 16:25:56 GMT
I understand that Icejet, the Icelandic bizjet operator, is establishing a London 'base' at SEN and will rotate its five-strong Dornier 328Jet fleet through SEN as required.
ATC Lasham are to provide engineering support.
The costs of parking their aircraft at LCY, STN or LTN is given as the main reason for this, together with SEN's H24 availability.
Their aircraft are configured either in executive shuttle or VIP pax layouts, according to the mission.
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Post by expressflight on Aug 29, 2008 9:32:43 GMT
A couple of items of news I picked up yesterday from the Yahoo Spotters site:
The floor of the Flightline Engineering hangar is reported as being dug up and a new floor laid, together with at least partial re-roofing of the hangar to rectify water leaks.
The southside hangar vacated recently by Air Livery is being refurbished in readiness for a new tenant, who is rumoured to be a corporate operator.
Lastly, the new fence line is going in along the edge of the widened strip width alongside the 06 threshold.
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Post by goldhanger on Aug 29, 2008 9:43:47 GMT
Behind the scenes tour
I have just returned from the first behind the scenes tour of the airport which was quite informative. It started with Alistair Welch giving a brief description of what the airport does today and an overview of the proposed plans for the future, followed by a Q&A session. He mentioned that the Railway station tenders for construction would be let in November 2008 with construction starting in March and opening in October ideally on the 8th, work will be carried out at night to minimise disruption to the railway. When asked about the sale of the airport he said the delays were due to making sure the proposed new owners would have the finance in place to carry out the proposed future plans, but a decision would be made shortly. The tour then transferred to a coach and was taken from the departure lounge past Viscount House where he mentioned that he would like to see the demolition of the building and the construction of a new business jet hangar. Past ATC Lasham where he described what they do and the aircraft in the hangar, past Flightline and the old Air Livery hangars (which both look very tatty from the outside), down the runway to the South End pointing out that the land which housed the old greenhouses had now been leased and that the removal of the old fence and hedge line had started and a new fence would be erected around the new boundary. Next to the North side maintenance area where it was mentioned that new hangars were due to be built on the old light aircraft lockups and the land backing onto the Motel. He said that the old aircraft parked and that had not moved for over a year he expects them to be disposed of shortly he said he does not want to see old aircraft standing around unused for years at a time. He pointed out that Inflight had just spent £1 million on refurbishing their hanger with new doors and the new workshops that had been built. Next onto the site of the new control tower and the proposed location for the flying clubs relocated from the alongside the railway. He mentioned the new fuel farm that has just been opened at a cost of £500,000. and that the new airport security fencing was being erected about 2Kms to date then past the Belfast which will gone within the next 28days. Up the runway and down past the site of the new terminal and railway station. where he mentioned that the station will have public access and not just for the use of the airport, and then back to the terminal total time 45mins.
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