[PaulB]

Any thoughts on this that has just been tweeted?

[Ian Melville]

It's not even dated? So we only know it was written after 14th March. Otherwise a bit if a fob-off, please use the correct channels and views will be considered

[Dave W]

Glass half full, Ian; glass half-full.

[PaulB]

It's not even dated?

I noticed the lack of date too....... Very poor show, coming as it does, from a government department.

It does seem to spend a page and a half saying not too much at all.

[chevvron]

Too small to read on my screen even when I click on it to enlarge it.

[AshleyFlynn23]

Not much said in that letter in my opinion. Imagine it will just end up as a case of 'close airfields, build houses'

[tomshep]

Government minister. Non committal anodyne blather. His constituents wouldn't want to see him supporting airports near their puppy farms and dating the evidence would prevent the same old guff being trotted out when necessary. Hide the keys to the mower and nobody will be any the wiser.

[chrisbl]

Its is basically two fingers. Javid is in the pocket of the House builders. The priority for him is always going to housing and maximising the numbers built whatever the cost.

Despite the APPG there is very little political capital in our type of aviation.

To paraphrase Churchill

We will build them on the flood plains we will build the on the landing grounds, we will build them in the fields, we will build them [insert as appropriate- anywhere that is unsuitable], we will never surrender.


Never has so much rubbish be built for so many by so few

Those old ones will remember the comedy "Never mind the quality, feel the width" or in this case Never mind the quality see how many we have built.

[mo0g]

When you get "affordable" housing weaponized, what do you expect in terms of political priorities?

The letter could have been more non-committal, or dismissive and I'm not sure he is in any position to be promising anything if there is an ongoing consultation.

Can we not at least give Shapps some credit for his continued interest and involvement?

[tomshep]

Credit to Shapps for sure ( but Javid needs taking around the back of the bike sheds for some 4x2 education)

[Bob Upanddown]

Letters from my MP in answer to my complaints on this very subject were very much along the lines of "well I made your views known and this is the answer I received - if you don't like it, tough."

MPs aren't there to campaign, they just seem to be climbing the political ladder at our expense whilst giving the impression of doing some work for the people who (didn't) vote for them.

The older I get, the less appealing democracy becomes.

[kingbing]

the letter i pretty equivocal. Standard stuff really. Seen plenty, of these. More a holding letter saying these things need to be balanced.

Letters from my MP in answer to my complaints on this very subject were very much along the lines of "well I made you views known and this is the answer I received - if you don't like it, tough."

MPs aren't there to campaign, they just seem to be climbing the political ladder at our expense whilst giving the impression of doing some work for the people who (didn't) vote for them.

The older I get, the less appealing democracy becomes.

I suspect you don't really want democracy as most people would happily shut airfield to give to housing. Why should your local MP campaign for airfields to remain open? They have to balance local opinion on this as much as any other issue. Just because they are not doing what you want does not make them a bad MP.

Sorry that sounded a bit of a rant, but we help ourselves the most in our own campaigns if we are realistic about situations, people and policies, pressure points, decision makers, commercial & political pressures etc.

[tomshep]

At the risk of sounding like a very naughty boy, there is an aspect of the People's Judean Front about all this.
If there were one strong organisation working for flyers, it would have money and therefore influence. There isn't so we are easy to marginalise. Closing down 90 per cent of the alphabet organisations would potentially do us some good!

[Bob Upanddown]

I sometimes think that AOPA is guilty of the encouraging the alphabet soup of organisations given that some of they are supported by or set up by AOPA (GAIN, GAAC for example) or are set up by the people who can't get their point across through AOPA (so leave and set up their own organisation).

[defcribed]

What I don't get is that we're constantly told of a housing shortage yet all I see around me is housebuilding.

In the nearest town to where I live (Banbury), one cannot enter/leave the town by road in any direction at all without passing new housing developments. The town is literally expanding in all directions. Three dozen here, a hundred there, fifty more over there, etc. Between when I moved here (~ two years ago) and when this latest lot is finished, maybe the third quarter of this year, the town will have increased it's radius by at least half a mile all the way around, more like a mile in some directions.

In every village in the surrounding area every derelict is being done up and sold, every barn not in current agricultural use is being converted.

We appear to do nothing but build houses. The fact that this appears not to be enough to meet demand suggests to me that we have a population problem.