Council backs long-term lease for airport despite £50m rival bid

Richard Youle, Local Democracy Reporter

Council chiefs are granting a long-term lease to the operators of Swansea Airport despite a last-minute plea for the site to be marketed to other bidders.

Businessman Michael Henry said in a written question that his company had £50 million to invest in the airport and that the council’s cabinet had previously said a competitive tender would take place.

At a meeting on December 11, cabinet decided to grant a group called Swansea Airport Stakeholders Alliance (SASA), which have been running the airport on an interim basis since September 2024, a long-term lease on commercial terms. This is subject to negotiations which, if unsatisfactory, would result in the airport being marketed.

The decision was made in closed session after a dramatic start to the meeting when Mr Henry’s lengthy question was read out by a council officer.

Mr Henry said SASA should “be commended on what is clearly a heroic effort to keep the place going”, but he claimed no improvements had been made apart from grass-cutting and one of the runways being painted.

He asked why the council’s position about going out to market had in his view “moved so drastically”, and said no other parties have had the chance to submit a competitive tender.

Mr Henry said his company had £50 million of capital in readiness to relay the runways, install lighting, and look to bring in “instrumental approach procedures” which would “raise potential for short-sector light commercial traffic in the future” as well as protecting the existing flying and skydiving clubs.

Mr Henry said he had spoken to two SASA volunteers, and had tried to contact the council’s estates department without success. He urged the authority to go out to tender, claiming that not doing so would look like the estates department opting for “the path of least effort”.

Deputy council leader Cllr David Hopkins said the expression of interest was noted and that he would keep an open mind. This was echoed by council leader, Cllr Robert Stewart.

Cabinet went on to discuss an 11-page airport report in open session but then moved into closed session to consider a restricted 32-page report and make a decision.

The 11-page report said SASA had made excellent progress, rebuilt the airport’s reputation among the flying community, successfully reinstated a Civil Aviation Authority licence, started to improve the airport infrastructure, kept in regular touch with council officers, and managed to make a profit.

The report said SASA had two paid employees but that most of its staff were volunteers. A long-term lease, it said, could enable SASA to recruit more paid staff and bring in “a strong pipeline of organisations/businesses that are potentially interested in relocating to the airport”.

It added though that despite SASA’s best efforts one of the airport licensees had “claimed relief from forfeiture via the courts” shortly after the interim lease started.

Options

The 11-page report listed four options for cabinet – a direct lease to SASA for a minimum of 99 years; going out to market; the council to run the airport; and closure of the airport and potential return of the land to public open space. The direct lease to SASA was recommended.

Cllr Stewart noted the improvements made by SASA and also the information set out in Mr Henry’s question. Before going into closed session, the Swansea Labour leader said: “It’s incumbent on us at cabinet to continue to have open minds.”

Whatever was decided, he said, it was important that the council-owned airport in Fairwood, Gower, had a stable and sustainable position and a clear way forward management-wise.

The council confirmed after the meeting that cabinet had backed the long-term lease option for SASA, subject to an independent valuation to ensure “best consideration” for the authority.

It said the council had not been formally approached by anyone other than SASA with any detailed offers for the airport’s operation. “We operate an open door policy and any interested party can request a meeting to discuss investment opportunities at any time,” said a council spokesman.

‘Great news’

Cllr Stewart, referring to the lease award, said: “This is great news for Swansea Airport, the airport users and aviation enthusiasts and for Swansea generally.

“When we stepped in last year, our priority was to keep the airport open. The airport had faced an uncertain future for a number of years prior to the council working with SASA to put in place a management plan.

“Since then, the alliance has shown real commitment and delivered improvements that give us confidence in its ability to secure the airport’s long-term future.”

“The council has decided to offer the lease to SASA as pursuing other options would have meant taking the site to market and re-applying for a CAA licence, which could have led to disruption and uncertainty. By agreeing this lease, we are safeguarding continuity and it paves the way for future investment that benefits the local economy.”

Developing improvement 

A SASA spokesman said the runway painting and grass-cutting cited by Mr Henry was the “tip of the iceberg” and that volunteers had put in a collective 17,500 hours of work.

“The majority has been spent on developing improvement, operational and business plans which cannot be implemented until the alliance has the security of tenure a long lease will provide,” said the spokesman.

“Nor would he have seen the social benefits being delivered through our volunteer-led community, schools, cadet and university partnership programmes. The alliance would be delighted if Mr Henry would contact us, as so many other businesses have done, to explore the possibilities for working together for the good of the aerodrome and the people of Swansea.”

The SASA spokesman said cabinet’s lease decision would safeguard the airport’s future and help create a community facility with social, economic and environmental benefits. “We are delighted that the progress we have made has given the council the confidence to resolve we should be awarded a long lease,” he said.