Campaigner hails 'great news' for island airport

The man behind a petition calling for the refurbishment of Alderney's airport runway has said he is confident about its future after Guernsey deputies agreed to explore the idea.

More than £2m has been spent on repairs over the last decade and the island's Policy & Resources Committee (P&R) said on Friday it would work alongside Alderney States to finalise a proposal.

It is not yet known how much the development would cost or what it would look like but a plan could be brought before the assembly before the end of the year.

Ian Taylor, whose petition of 1,882 signatures was submitted to the States last week, said it was "great news for Alderney" and believed the government would be "running out of the blocks".

"I'm very pleased that we got the decision we needed and it's great news for Alderney," he told BBC Radio Guernsey.

"It is going to be a long road... from when a spade goes into the ground to where you can land aircraft on a new runway is a long process, so people need to recognise that."

Ian said he was hopeful the P&R would remain committed to the policy, regardless of whether its makeup changed at the upcoming general election in June.

"I'm hoping the new P&R will stand by the policy letter that was written and signed," Mr Taylor said.

"I hope there will be no changes made [to the plans] but if there are changes, that they will be positive and the [committee] will get it started as a matter of urgency."

When asked whether he was positive for the future, Mr Taylor added: "I'm pretty sure... they're going to drive this project and come running out of the blocks to make sure we have what we need before the end of the year."

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