Expansion plans have been unveiled for Leeds Bradford Airport to enable it to bring in double the amount of passengers over the next 15 years. The proposals would see Leeds Council releasing 36.2 hectares of greenbelt land in and near to the airport. It would be used to increase the passenger terminal building and develop an airport village, including a hotel, restaurant and shops. The plans would also result in new flight destinations being introduced. Leeds Bradford airport currently handles around 3.3 million passengers per year but its forecasts show a potential to increase that to 7.1 million by 2030. The plans include an air innovation park to attract research and development companies and an air freight park for improved cargo handling. Leeds Council said releasing the council-owned land would help businesses grow and bring in new jobs and skills. Better transport connections including a new link road are also being looked at. The proposals will be discussed at a meeting of the council’s executive board on 15 July, and if approved, they will go out to public consultation later in the year. The airport was bought from local councils in 2007 for £145.5 million. Although Bridgepoint Capital own the airport 100% financially, the councils hold a “special share” in the airport, to protect its name and continued operation as an air transport gateway for the Yorkshire region.
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Expansion plan unveiled for Leeds Bradford Airport
8.7.2015 (BBC)
Better transport links to the airport are being looked at as part of the plans
Expansion plans have been unveiled for Leeds Bradford Airport to enable it to bring in double the amount of passengers over the next 15 years.
The proposals would see Leeds Council releasing 36.2 hectares of greenbelt land in and near to the airport.
It would be used to increase the passenger terminal building and develop an airport village, including a hotel, restaurant and shops.
The plans would also result in new flight destinations being introduced.
Bring new jobs
The airport, in Yeadon, is currently used by 3.3m passengers a year but forecasts show a potential to increase that to 7.1m by 2030.
The council said the airport needed to expand in order to accommodate the predicted rise.
Also included in the expansion plan is an air innovation park to attract research and development companies and an air freight park for improved cargo handling.
The authority said releasing the council-owned land would help businesses grow and bring in new jobs and skills.
Better transport connections including a new link road are also being looked at.
The proposals will be discussed at a meeting of the council’s executive board on 15 July.
If approved, they will go out to public consultation later in the year.
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The owner of the airport is Bridgepoint Capital and the operator is Leeds Bradford International Airport Limited.
Wikipedia says, of Leeds Bradford Airport:
Ownership
Leeds and Bradford councils jointly bought the airport site at Yeadon in 1930,[15] which opened as Yeadon Aerodrome in 1931. The airport became a limited company in 1987, and was shared between the five surrounding boroughs of Leeds (40%), Bradford (40%) and Wakefield, Calderdale and Kirklees (together sharing the remaining 20%).
In October 2006 plans to privatise the airport were confirmed when Bradford Council became the last of the five controlling councils to agree to sell off the airport to the private sector. On 4 April 2007 the five controlling councils announced that Bridgepoint Capital had been selected as the preferred bidder.[16] On 3 May 2007 Bridgepoint was confirmed as the buyer.[17]
On 4 May 2007 Bridgepoint Capital acquired the airport from Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield, Calderdale and Kirklees councils for £145.5 million. Although Bridgepoint Capital own the airport 100% financially, the councils hold a “special share” in the airport, to protect its name and continued operation as an air transport gateway for the Yorkshire region. The new owners said they were to implement a £70 million capital expenditure plan, to focus on improving passenger and retail infrastructure in order to increase passenger capacity to 7 million per annum by 2015.[4]
The Masterplan
In 2004 the airport published a master plan in line with government recommendations. The master plan set out the following proposals for future development:[7][8][9]
- Expansion of the terminal buildings, with new gates added including airbridge boarding tunnels.
- New aircraft parking areas (there are currently 24 stands, this would increase to 31).
- A change to the runway configuration (part of which has already been carried out). This includes building a taxiway parallel to the main runway. This would allow aircraft movements to increase from 26 to 34 per hour.
- New airfield equipment and buildings (including aircraft hangars, new flight catering facilities and a new fuel farm).
- Hotel and office space (the first phase of which is now complete).
- A railway station from a spur near Horsforth.
- New car parking areas.
- A new link road from the A65, to the airport and then to the A658.
The master plan sets out the stages of development for Leeds Bradford Airport over the next 10 years and outlines general proposals for the period from 2016 to 2030. It is estimated that by 2016 the airport will handle in excess of 5.1 million passengers per year as well as seeing a significant increase in freight traffic. Both Flybe and Ryanair have expressed an interest in expanding their routes at the airport, with Ryanair announcing intentions to base aircraft there.[10] By 2010 Ryanair had made good this pledge and hadBoeing 737-800 aircraft based at the airport operating new routes.
Bridgepoint Capital and Leeds City Council hope that by redeveloping the airport, it will attract even more companies, jobs and people to the area which already has a population of 2.9 million.[7]
Bridgepoint Capital development plan of 2008
On 5 November 2008, Bridgepoint Capital announced their £28 million plans to redevelop the airport terminal.[11] Planning permission was submitted to Leeds City Council in late November 2008. The plans involve building in front of the current terminal building, effectively turning the current crescent-shaped building into a semicircle. As the current terminal buildings are the product of 40 years of extensions, there is no continuity to the layout and the buildings can become very congested. The extension would be set over two stories and would facilitate new departure and arrival facilities. The ground floor will house new check-in halls, while on the first floor there will be a large departure lounge, featuring a glass roof.[12] Both arrival and departure facilities will benefit from new retail facilities as the management claimed that current facilities were ‘inadequate and unenticing’. It is estimated that with the completion of the airport extension and the forecast new flights, an extra 2,000 jobs will be generated at the airport.[13] Since 2008 the redevelopment plans have remained largely unchanged, however the proposed external appearance of the building has changed, being clad in black instead of the white cladding that had initially been proposed.[14]
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