Monday, 14 March 2016

Summary of recent news items.



SUMMARY OF RECENT NEWS ITEMS

3 Mar.  EGNOS for St Mary’s Airport – Delayed.

The new EGNOS system for the Airport, intended to help planes fly in poorer weather conditions, will still not be working by the start of the 2016 holiday season.  The Chairman of the Council’s Transport, Economic Development and Infrastructure Committee says he can’t get a satisfactory answer as to why.  Read the full Scilly Today item here  .

3 Mar.   Scilly’s Full Council rejects 15% increase in landing fees.

Full Council has sent the proposal to increase fees by 15% back to the Transport, Economic Development and Infrastructure (TEDI) Committee for more discussion. The decision had provoked an angry response from Steamship Company who stated that Council had refused to engage in any consultation with the Company over the increases.  Read the full Scilly Today item here



Comment.  A full list of Council documents provided to members of the TEDI Committee can be viewed here.   


7 Mar.  The former Chief Executive of Visit England has been appointed the new Chairman of the Islands’ Partnership.


James Berresford will take up the non-executive role for an initial three-year term. The position has been vacant since last summer, when former Chairman and Duchy Land Steward Chris Gregory stood down.  Full Scilly Today news item here


 7 Mar.  The Council won’t give up St Mary’s Airport unless they’re ‘fully satisfied’ with the choice of operator, according to the Chairman Amanda Martin.

Councillors voted last autumn to hand back the airport lease. Their 12-month notice period is due to expire on the 23rd September this year and the Duchy of Cornwall is currently looking for a new operator once the Council withdraws.  The Council has always maintained that they would continue to run the facility if a new operator couldn’t be found in time.


Comment.  See comments on this Scilly Today news item which question whether the IOSC has any legal power over who might take the lease given that the IOSC has given notice to hand the lease back.  Full Scilly Today item here


No comments:

Post a Comment