Airport Hotel ?

BUSINESS users flying into Farnborough Airport could soon be checking in to a modern hotel on the site.

Airport operators TAG want to build a 150-room hotel to meet demand from a growing number of customers.

The development would be on the site of a former officers’ mess, on the eastern side of the airfield next to Farnborough Road.

TAG states there is a shortage of hotels in the Farnborough area, while the large number of major companies based in the area mean that there is a consistent demand for short-stay accommodation.

Furthermore, TAG argues that some of the hotels “do not generally meet modern requirements”.

A supporting statement to the application adds: “Many hours of staff time are wasted searching for available accommodation. There are also frequent criticisms of the standards and price of local accommodation.

“Many crews are frequent visitors to the airport and, in the knowledge of the difficulties locally, choose to travel to central London for overnight accommodation, so that the income is lost to the local area.”

Farnborough Airport has seen rapid development following the handover of control to TAG from the Ministry of Defence in 2003.

The site will eventually handle around 28,000 flights a year compared to the current 16,000.

The new FlightSafety International training facility, complete with a number of thoroughly modern flight simulators, will also increase demand with up to 100 students visiting the site at any one time.

The hotel would include conference rooms, restaurants and bars, and there would be around 170 car park spaces.

TAG director Ann Bartaby said: “This development will help to meet the current demand. Not only will this hotel serve the airport, but we hope there will be facilities of value to the whole area.”

Farnborough councillor Charlie Fraser-Fleming said a hotel at the birthplace of British aviation was well overdue.

He added: “I’ve looked at the outline plans and they get my full support.

“When we started looking at how the old Farnborough airfield could be developed in the early 1990s it was felt that we should have a hotel complex as close to the airfield as possible, as long as it is safe.

“The need for additional accommodation for visitors arriving and leaving Farnborough is critical to the future development of the area.”

Geoff Marks, chairman of the Farnborough Airfield Residents Association (FARA), said he was not opposed to the airfield.

However he added that there are some important points that should be raised by everyone interested in open and fair local government.

He said: “In their application TAG note: ‘It will meet an identified need in the area, and, more specifically, assist in underpinning the viability of the airport and the aerodrome as a whole’.

“TAG have previously said their business plan shows that the operation is viable at 25,000 movements.

“Presumably this viability did not hinge on a hotel being approved.

“It must be clear to all that TAG believe that the hotel would make it easier to grow beyond the current movement limit.

“If approval is given, then it could be argued that the council acknowledges this and consequently may have pre-determined an application for an increase in movements.”

Mr Marks also said the Government Office for the South-East (GOSE) had written to TAG last November confirming they did not oppose the application, but that TAG should not assume that the land or buildings would be sold to them.

He added: “The public accounts committee requires the MoD to secure the best possible price when disposing of property and expect this to be demonstrated by tender action.

“Any arrangement between GOSE and TAG on the sale of the land should be in the public domain.

“It is not clear whether the hotel would be open to all comers and help to meet the ‘identified area need’ mentioned by TAG.

“It must be expected that TAG would give its customers priority over others, even to the extent of keeping rooms empty to ensure they would be available at short notice.”

The plans have been submitted to Rushmoor Borough Council in draft form and will be discussed by councillors within the next two months.

Full plan details can be viewed by logging on to www.ukplanning.com.

Source: www.farnborough.co.uk

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