‘Continued delay on runway a concern for us’ - Alderney politicians

Deputies were yesterday faced with two options to delay debate – one from Deputy Carl Meerveld, who proposed the postponement at 3.40 on behalf of some colleagues, and a new one from Deputy Yvonne Burford, who raised a sursis motion overnight, which members received late morning.

With no strong opposition, the States agreed the delay until Wednesday 14 December, when it will be the first major matter on its agenda.

Alderney representative Alex Snowdon said that Alderney States members had not had an opportunity to consider the sursis and it was important that they were able to take a position on it.

‘It’s disappointing but so be it,’ added Alderney’s Policy & Finance chairman Ian Carter, who was in the States in the public gallery alongside colleague Bill Abel.

‘Maybe we will be slightly better equipped knowing the arguments that may be used.’

He said that Deputy Burford’s sursis helped to crystallise certain issues in the debate, but Alderney politicians were disappointed that the first they knew of it was yesterday.

‘Conflating Aurigny, the Guernsey runway, and our runway, perhaps is not the best way forward,’ he said.

Mr Abel said he was worried about the sursis.

‘One of our biggest fears is adding more time,’ he said.

‘We obviously have problems with our runway and continued delay is certainly of concern for us.’

Both men said they believed that Guernsey deputies were becoming better informed on the issues.

‘We feel a little bit more confident that over the next two or three weeks their understanding will become much clearer.’

States’ Trading Supervisory Board president Deputy Peter Roffey said he had hoped to make some progress on the report this week, but Policy & Resources president Deputy Peter Ferbrache said a delay ‘made sense’. ‘There’s no chance of making any substantive progress on this [today],’ he said.