Last updated at 15:02, Friday, 05 February 2010

It was disappointing, but not entirely unexpected, to read the comments of Mr Andrew Tinkler as he attempted to shoulder the blame for his recent lay-offs squarely at the feet of the Irthington farmers who, as he claims, have delayed things (The Cumberland News, January 29).

These farmers will have had legally binding agreements in position, which will require certain protocol to be adhered to before the termination of their leases, all of which should have commenced in sufficient time to enable the new development to stay on track.

As I recall more than two years ago at a planning meeting, Mr Gordon Brown publicly presented his “legal and binding document” (as he referred to it) to Carlisle City Council (CCC) and Mr Tinkler in person.

If you read the prospectus issued to Stobart shareholders in May last year regarding the £14m sale of the airport (from Mr Tinkler and Mr Stobart’s private company WA Developments Holdings Ltd), on page seven there is a section on “Agricultural Tenancies” which clearly states that “12 months’ notice of termination to be given …..with the earliest date of termination being March 2011” and goes on to say that “….tenants will be entitled to compensation… but the Board does not consider these payments, should they be required, to be material”. There appears to have been a significant oversight by the developer not to mention this deadline of next March in your article and any slip-ups are purely its own doing.

To simply goad people and publicly vilify individuals over something which was clearly not their fault achieves nothing other than to give away their position.

Gordon Brown is an honest and well-respected resident of our parish who spearheads this campaign but don’t think for one minute he’s on his own. What I would ask, though, is that you try not to vent your anger at him – it’s just about a bit of common justice for all concerned.

On behalf of all the concerned residents he represents – the ones who bothered to speak out, only to be let down when their views were all but ignored by CCC – I would like to take this opportunity to say a very big thank-you to Gordon Brown and his team for their sterling efforts thus far.

This may also be a good point to remind Mr Tinkler that there is a two-day Appeal Court hearing on April 20 at which the planning permission granted by CCC will be reviewed and the planning permission may well be quashed.

On the other hand, if the appeal fails, may I also point out that the current airport lease does not permit any of the new development and, as such, needs to be altered by the landlord, CCC.

Its estates department has already confirmed to us in writing that it will not be altering any lease until the outcome of the pending Appeal Court hearing. So unless CCC is lying to us, it may be a bit premature in claiming that it is going to start in March this year.

DALE RANSLEY
Resident of Irthington and Carforum member

• I refer to your front page article; “45 staff laid off due to airport dispute”.

I feel it is worthwhile reminding readers that the planning application submitted by the Stobart Group was not for the development of airport facilities but for the construction of a regional distribution centre.

The ‘carrot on the stick’ that influenced the approval of the application was the Stobart Group’s assertions that the revenue generated by the distribution centre could well fund improvements to the airport facilities at some time in the future.

The airport was originally purchased by Andrew Tinkler for £2m in 2006. It was then sold by WA Developments International to the Stobart Group for £14m in 2009.

Andrew Tinkler and all of the subsequent owners of the site have been aware of the existence of agricultural tenancies on this land since 2006.

Andrew Tinkler seems to suggest that the current delays and associated redundancies are all due to the actions of the agricultural tenants who are holding the Stobart Group to ransom. This is a very crude attempt at ‘blame-shifting.’

As one-time owner of the airport and chief executive of the Stobart Group, the current owner, Andrew Tinkler must take his share of the responsibility for the mismanagement and lack of forward planning over the past four years that has directly resulted in this situation.

He also seems to forget the fact that, even if the issues of the tenancies had been resolved, the decision to approve the planning application is now the subject of a Judicial Review.

This was deemed by Justice Sullivan, who reviewed the application, as having a “real chance of success”.

In other words, take the agricultural tenancies out of the equation and the Stobart Group is still faced with a delay until such time as the Judicial Review has made a judgement.

We would all regret the loss of 45 jobs and the impact that this has on employees and their families. However, the Stobart Group does little for its public image in allowing an employee to attack the integrity of hard-working farming families in pursuance of its business aims.

IAN GRAY
Irthington

• The comments of farmer Gordon Brown beggar belief.Forty-five people (so far) have lost their jobs with little hope of finding work in this economic climate.

By his own admission Mr Brown is legally obliged to surrender the land in one year’s time and it appears that Mr Tinkler has made a generous offer of financial compensation plus alternative land nearby.

I wonder if Mr Brown can explain to those who have lost their jobs as a direct result of his actions just why he thinks that his “point of law” is more important than “the greater good” of the people of Carlisle?

J TAYLOR
Irthington

First published at 14:09, Friday, 05 February 2010
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk