'Scuse Me Gov'nor, Could we 'ave our £22 million quid back?

bristol | local government | news report Wednesday August 27, 2008 21:18 by SWRDAwatch

SWRDAwatch: Keeping the eye of justice firmly focused on the quanocracy of SWRDA

South West Regional Development Agency has spent over £22 million on local airport projects, but is it money well spent? They are not sure. So do tax payers get the cash back?

SWRDA have put out plenty of propaganda saying that airport expansion is a good thing and good for the economy (though silent about the huge increase in carbon emissions) until that is the Stop Bristol Airport Expansion campaign (see http://www.nobristolairportexpansion.co.uk/files/pr_200...a.pdf ), through the freedom of information act forced the release of notes from a meeting of SWRDA's great and the good who considered that perhaps air travel was not going to grow that much after all and perhaps they should top shoveling money at local airports (well over £22 million; That is £8 million towards a funding package for Newquay Airport, £14 million on expansion work to Bristol airport's infrastructure). The official wording of the meeting was;

"there remained a concern about the assumptions underlying the forecasts. It was widely agreed that passenger air duties and fuel price rises would inevitably have an impact on growth forecasts."
http://www.nobristolairportexpansion.co.uk/files/swrda_...8.pdf

You mean increased prices might lead to less customers? Surly not!!! Is there an economist in the house? There was also information saying that SWRDA could not be sure that rising passengers would lead to rising jobs, as new technology was actually leading to less jobs - automated check-ins and the like.

Great work with the FOI act, Stop BIA! However there has been no word on the millions and millions already spent on unsound investments and if we (the tax payers who fund the quango) are going to get our money back? No word from SWRDA yet.