Extension plan rejected by islanders

Friday 3rd July 2009, 2:30PM BST.

Tim Archard poses a question at yesterday evening’s public meeting at Forest School. (0799477)

A NEW proposal for fixing the airport runway without lengthening it was a clear favourite at a public meeting last night.

It would replace runway end safety areas with special concrete designed to crumple under a runaway plane.

The engineered material arresting system, or Emas, was one of five options that Public Services presented at Forest School, but minister Bernard Flouquet warned that it was complicated, expensive and somewhat unproven.

He favoured a Deputy Jan Kuttelwascher-inspired option C, which would allow for the runway to be extended at a later date and which could cost £5m. less than originally suggested.

However, a 100-strong audience called for Emas to be investigated urgently.

‘Option A seems very appealing to me and a lot of people here,’ said Lindsay de Sausmarez of St Martin’s. She expressed concern that Emas would not be given a sufficient chance because of time constraints.

Deputy John Gollop, who sat with the public, also noted the support. ‘This Emas is a very interesting idea that we have only known about for about a day now,’ he said.

Airport director Colin Le Ray, who said consultation on the project so far had cost about £1m., explained the pros and cons of Emas, which he said PSD had been considering for only about a month.

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1
Sara

July 4, 2009 at 11:45 am

Regarding the runway, I fear we are shooting ourselves in the foot. In an ever more competitive world,the island needs to promote itself, and having a runway which is not capable of handling the workhorse of the skies the Boeing 737 will indicate to others that we are not serious about business, and the winner will of course be Jersey which has had the capability to handle such aircraft since the mid 70′s.
Get real get a runway and prove we are a serious juristiction.

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2
Eric

July 4, 2009 at 12:09 pm

Well done ratepayers;
now that you have the bit between your teeth go all the way and demand, not ask but demand to know what is going on in every department.

Read ANTHONY HEMAN’s letter in “have your say”

It’s incredible that such huge sums of money are quoted for airports when other places in this world do it for much much lower prices.

Seems to me a big !rip off’ somewhere.

With these amateur politicians that Guernsey has it seems that; they quote a price, then double it, then pass it on; once all departments have had their say, it rises to these astronomical Quotes

I hope that very soon these politicians are kicked out and some kind of intelligence is restored to our welfare.

People ask why C.Parkinson and ¨Falla left or will leave; I say again they have seen the light
Guernsey people are coming out of their long sleep- just like Rip Van Winkle. Let the theme of of those Islanders who rejected those plans now sally forth to every household.

It’s our Island and we, and we alone should say where and when monies are spent.

GO FOR IT PEOPLE You’ve started the ball rolling.

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