Re: <b>Swansea (Fairwood ) Airport</b> -- Killay Have Your say

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Date Posted: 22:36:33 06/13/03 Fri
Author: Don Lilley
Subject: Re: Swansea (Fairwood ) Airport
In reply to: Joe Marshall 's message, "Swansea (Fairwood ) Airport" on 10:00:08 06/07/03 Sat

Following the article in the Evening Post, a sample of e-mails received. (no e-mails against)
Emails received following the article in the South Wales Evening Post (Thursday June 12th).

"Having just read the article in the 'Evening Post' regarding the Airport, I fully agree with your comments. Swansea has waited far too long for a viable commercial air operation, and we certainly do not want to lose the opportunity now. Although I don't live close to the Airport (I live in Ynystawe), please let me know if I can assist with a petition in favour of the airport improvements. I'm sure I could obtain many favourable signatures."

"Yes yes yes to the new hangers"

"We support your efforts 100%. It is not right that a small number of Nimbys in Gower can dictate to the majority of people in Swansea who, I'm sure, welcome the developments at Swansea airport. More power to your elbow!"

"At last sanity has returned to my beloved Killay - We fully support the plans for Swansea Airport - we have a holiday bungalow in Mumbles and we desperately need to encourage tourists to visit the area - the airport is now beginning to be the jewel in the Tourist crown - and we get a bunch of people who cannot see the wood for the trees - trying to live in a past century - the airport has always been there during my lifetime and I am 65 - it is wonderful that it is going to be used to its full potential - and to soothe the panic stricken NIMBY"s in Killay it is hardly going to be a Heathrow !! We need the Airport for business, trade and tourism. Please send me some petition forms so we can help the cause."

"I am writing to say how delighted I am that someone is making the case for the pro-airport lobby. I do not live near the airport, I live in Ynysforgan, but I can see the benefits that the development of the airport has for Swansea and the local area. The airport has been here for as long as I can remember in various guises and I couldn't imagine life being the same if we were to lose it. I am an aviation enthusiast but am also thinking of the long term benefits that air travel from the local community can bring. The nimby's as you rightly say in tonight's evening post article seem to be against anything and everything and I can't see how the development of new hangars to replace the decrepit ones that currently stand there should be the subject of Welsh Assembly attentions. Unless of course they have been got at through the back door by echelons of the nimby crusade. The airport is gradually improving in both terms of image and infrastructure and any development by Air Wales must be a change for the better.
Good for you I say and you can always count on my support"

"We find the services from London operated by Air Wales are extremely useful because we have and 88 year-old mother who, while we are on holiday is looked after by a 78 year-old uncle who can't drive any more at least not long distances, he lives near London Airport so can easily jump on the plane and we pick him up at Fairwood. He won't use the buses or the train because he is fairly set in his ways apart from which in order to use either bus or train he has to carry luggage plus golf clubs through at least two changes to get here which is not acceptable, the air Wales service is just the ticket and cheaper, which suits an. old age pensioner very well"

"I have just read your article in the Evening Post and agree with the sentiments you have expressed. You can add my name to the list supporting the planned improvements at Swansea Airport. The attitude of some of the people living in Swansea west over any form of development that can be of benefit to the people of Swansea as a whole has been a source of constant irritation to me over the years. Living in Morriston all my life I've grown up with the industrial dereliction of the lower Swansea valley. However, as soon as the Evening Post highlights a development in Swansea west ( the airport and Derwyn Fawr Asda are the most recent), the howls of protest appear in print."

"We read tonight's Evening Post and thought we would just drop you a note to say that we support your cause fully. Over the past 6 months my wife has flown from Swansea to Dublin and back three times using the Air Wales Service to visit a sick relative and she has found the service invaluable. She will no doubt use this service many more times over the coming months and has encouraged her family to use it also when visiting Swansea. We live ten minutes road journey from the airport and have saved lots of our time and money in using our airport. We look forward to Air Wales having a long and happy life at our airport. I have used the airport many times during the last seventeen years for work (flying from Swansea by helicopter) and as part of my duties as a Coastguard based at Mumbles. The airport has improved immeasurably during the last two - three years and has become an attraction in its own right! Swansea needs an airport, developed in the correct manner as is suggested. I hope the local council can overturn the Assembly's decision."

"What a nice change to find a Group to support something, instead of these interminable, hysterical Groups that 'Object'. Silly exaggerations, of remote possible ills. I'm with you. A sensible, sensitive development of Fairwood will be good for Swansea"

"Just to let you know you have my full support. The article is right, the opposition/nimby factor always get more press, SANER is a great idea (and made me laugh!). I admit to being biased - a love of aircraft and over 200 hours flying them, but the most important aspect is somebody putting their money were their mouth is, not like most dreams you read about which go nowhere."

"I read last night's Evening Post. I thought that S.A.N.E.R was a great
acronym and "does what it says on the tin" in that it brings some common
sense to the debate. I too feel that the "fors" never get any publicity, only the "againsts".
Many of the "against" people seem to be the same ones that will object to ANY proposals on Gower. I live in Tycoch. Yes we get a bit of aircraft noise when the planes go over. We also get noise from light aircraft as well. However its no more
noisy than the neighbourhood mowers, strimmers, hedge cutters etc and lasts
for a lot less time. Both my wife and I are FOR the airport and the building of the hangers. The development of the airport is vital to the local economy. It will bring much
needed jobs to the area. Please add our names to your list of people who are
"FOR" the expansion."

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Replies:

[> [> Re: Swansea (Fairwood ) Airport - Reasons For -- Alun Richards, 09:51:18 06/17/03 Tue

Although as an airport user I find the upgrading in some ways disadvantageous, I should like to wish your campaign every success. However as one who has been using the airfield since 1942, I would like to make the following points to help counter some of the idiotic and ill informed comments.
1. Swansea needs an airport. As a committed environmentalist, I would resist the horrendous landtake that relocation on another site would involve.
2.The additional aircraft movements are made by the quietest machines, the main noise nuisance comes from the police and the air ambulance helicopters.
3.The total number of aircraft movements has actually decreased since the availability of engineers, now largely avoids dead journeys for the routine maintenance of Swansea based machines.
4.The ANOB & SSSI argument will not wash, the airfield considerably predates such designation. Would one be justified in designating land bordering a main line railway, and then complain about the trains?
5.Whilst the airfield does impinge on an area of great natural beauty, the actual land is virtually useless for any other purpose, and the immediate area is sparsely populated and the main take off route is over the sea. In fact although from several viewpoints the site is aeronautically less than ideal it is the best in the area taking all factors into account.
6.Whilst I have considerable sympathy with those, like myself, who were already living here before the airfield was built, I have little with those who have located here since 1940. If you went to live near a glue factory would you be justified in complain about the smell?
7.The population catchment will severely constrain the passenger potential and hence limit both the air and the road traffic.
8.Since there is no scope for extending and strengthening runways (one has already been closed and the second of the three shortened) there can never be any large, long distance aircraft and commercial traffic will be substantially confined to the sort of STOL types now in use.

Alun John Richards www.richards-slate.co.uk/

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[> [> NIMBYism -- Leia Fee, 15:33:52 06/19/03 Thu

What tends to irritate me about these things, is that the people who complain about them never seem to have a better alternative.

The same people who complain that Swansea doesn't spend enough on attracting tourism complain that the airport shouldn't expand.

The same people who complain about the proposed windfarm complain even more about conventional powerplants.

And a special mention goes to those who complained about events at Oystermouth castle and will now doubtless complain about the lack of funding those same events brought in.

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