LUFC Pete, you are right about much of what you say, but you really are looking at things in very simplistic way. Yes, we would all have loved Bridgepoint to have spent the money straight away, but it was only just before last summer that they complied with the requirements of the planning consent, so they were not in a position to do anything until that time. They couldn't do anything during last summer either, as it is the wrong time to be knocking an airport about, which I am sure you will agree, so it had to be last winter.
However, you seem to be forgetting something that I have posted before. All that had happened when the airport submitted plans to the council was that they had a building design that needed planning approval. Nothing more than that. Nobody spends a small fortune on the real nitty gritty design issues until they know that they are going to be able to proceed, and at LBA that was when the council agreed that they had cleared the infrastructure requirements that they had set. Only then would they start the laborious planning of ground drainage, sewarage (both of which require submission to the Environment Agency for approval), internal Mechanical and Electrical design, including the Air Conditioning system and all sort of other issues, which generally have to be amended and re-submitted several times before they are finally signed off.
Then, and only then, can the scheme go out to tender, and that has now been done, ready for a start in the autumn. Only when you have your tender price is the final cost likely to be known and that cost has to be submitted to the Board for approval. Incidentally, despite your scepticism, Bridgepoint have loads of other interests. Look at their web site and see how many businesses they own!
Even when you have a contractor on board, there is then the issue of making sure that the works are planned in such a way that there will be minimal disruption to the airport, enabling it to continue operating despite the huge upheaval the works will cause. The contractors will have had a stab at it, but 9 times out of 10, they, the architects, and the airport, will need a number of detailed meetings, to work out how best to do things and then the timescale for the works can be affected - something that won't be acceptable if it takes the works beyond the start of the summer 2012 season.
Pete - I have been managing projects as my job for 18 years, so I am not just making excuses for Bridgepoint. Think back to how long it took for Terminal 5 to be built at Heathrow - years. The same now with Terminal 2. Different scale I grant you, but actually all the same issues and problems need addressing.
Don't forget either that throughout this time when nothing appeared to be happening, Bridgepoint were funding the works to the car parks (both expansion and re-surfacing), undertaking work on the airfield such as a new fuel farm area, and paying for some highway alterations on the roads leading to the vicinity of the airport. It is not as though they were sitting there not spending anything!
As a project manager, I can fully understand why they are only now getting to the point where they are ready to go. There was no point in rushing things last summer - had they done so the project could have been a disaster. There was also less need to take risks as the passenger figures were not going up and on many routes were going down. No investment company worth its salt was going to throw money at something so important without ensuring that they got the scheme right and the timing right too. The Council did that sort of thing and that is why we have an airport that is made up of various bits, pieces and add ons.
As I have said before, the airport themselves recently acknowledged that now is the time if they want to attract more business to LBA. They have been out to tender and they have announced that subject to Board approval they will start this Autumn. I am therefore somewhat puzzled as to why you seem to be somewhat negative when what you are wanting to happen, is about to happen?
But going back to your original point about having the wool pulled over my eyes, well I don't think so, because I have worked in the building project business and understand the process and how much time it always takes for a major project. The seasonal aspect at LBA only makes the situation worse as there is effectively a window of only 6 -8 months when the works can be taken from start to finish. They simply have to get it right and hit the ground running, with an on time finish, irrespective of what the Yeadon weather throws at them!!
