Support for Campbeltown spaceport on the agenda

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Support for Campbeltown spaceport on the agenda

Postby Kintyre Forum News » Tue Mar 14, 2017 10:18 pm

Support for Campbeltown spaceport on the agenda

A funding request, to support promotion of Campbeltown as the home for the UK’s first spaceport, will be considered by the Policy and Resources Committee when it meets next week.

DSUK (Discover Space UK) is seeking £40,000 to be used to position Campbeltown as the choice location for the spaceport, and to develop a business plan to support this.

The DSUK consortium brings together the Council, and Machrihanish Airbase Community Company (MACC) with support from Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

DSUK has been working to raise awareness of the key competitive advantages offered by the former airbase site in Machrihanish: it boasts a 3km runway, is situated well away from major centres of population and congested airspace, has open sea to the west and space for expansion.

A report to committee outlines that DSUK’s next step is to develop a comprehensive business plan for overcoming obstacles to securing the spaceport and the jobs it would bring. This would include identifying funding sources and developing a business model.

If approved, the £40,000 funding request would come from the Council’s Inward Investment Fund.

Councillor Aileen Morton, Policy Lead for Sustainable Economic Growth, said:
“Bringing the UK’s first spaceport to Campbeltown is about transforming the economy of Kintyre and wider Argyll by bringing long-term, high quality and sustainable jobs to the area. “A lot of work’s already been done by the Council and our partners to highlight the distinct advantages that this location offers, and this has raised the profile of Argyll and Bute as a place to invest and do business. “This is a highly ambitious project. The scale of benefit it has the potential to deliver makes it worth considering for support from the Inward Investment Fund.”
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