Board of Sligo Airport asked to look at alternative greenfield site
From the Ocean FM website this morning.
Oct 30, 3:52 am
Six Sligo County Councillors have tabled a motion for next week’s county council meeting to call on the Board of Sligo Airport to engage consultants to examine the possibility and cost of locating Sligo Airport on a new green field site.
The motion has been signed by Councillors Declan Bree, Deirdre Healy McGowan, Sean McManus, Jim McGarry, Tony McLoughlin and Imelda Henry.
This motion came about following a meeting between Dorrin and Cumeen Conservation Group and all county councillors representing the Sligo/Strandhill area.
At that meeting it emerged that the Airport Board had not examined the possibility of locating the airport to a new greenfield site.
Chairperson of the Dorrin and Cumeen Conservation Group John McDermott says he’s confident this motion will be passed at next week’s County Council meeting
The Dorrin and Cummeen Strand Conservation Group have a cheek asking the county council and the airport board to consider moving the airport itself to a new site. Come on guys you’re running out of ideas. The extension needs to go ahead and now. Are you really concerned about the environment or is there some self interest here????
The 100s of houses/apartments etc being built in Strandhill is causing a lot more damage to the environment than the extension to the runway. Why have you guys said nothing about this. If you’re so concerned about Strandhill why haven’t you stopped all development in the area!!!!!!!!
I’m interest to hear your reply…
Ian T
The airport is in a terrible place; no room for expansion in the future and no long term prospects. Even if the airport were to get the proposed extension it is completely inadequate to service Sligo and the North West. If the airport fails to expand in a viable and sustainable way it will close down anyway sooner or later - probably sooner.
In regard to conservation, yes there are some housing developments that could have been planned better. Our County Development Plan and Planning Dept is far from perfect. But at least nobody has applied for planning permission to build houses on the public beach.
You say DCCG are running out of ideas. I think it is the airport that are running out of ideas. In fact they never had any imaginative ideas in first place. Sligo needs better. We need a viable long term plan for air transportation and not a short term patch up job that is destined for failure.
In short if the Airport’s crazy idea were to go ahead it would be a massive waste of public money ( more than €10.0 million) and the destruction of a site that is beautiful and very important of wildlife, and the environment.
Re-locating the airport to a suitable site is the only way it will survive. Hence the reason for the Councillor’s Motion
So you see Ian T we really have the long term best interests of Sligo at heart; both for environmental reasons and indeed for long term sustainable economic progress.
I hope you will re-consider the points made in your comment above and join with us in making Strandhill/Sligo a better place.
Joe