A reliably-connected Alderney will mean a wealthier island

We, the undersigned, have considerable business interests on Alderney as well as large operations in Guernsey and beyond. We are some of the recent few who have shown enough confidence in the sister island to substantially invest and establish new businesses. In our opinion, Alderney is a valuable asset to the Bailiwick and deserves our support.

The ‘business’ case for the airport is that should the island not provide a runway long enough to accommodate the intended monotype fleet operated by Aurigny, then the island will most likely not have an airline operator at all. The airline market for planes with less than 19 seats both for manufacturers as well as operators is very limited as they are not profitable on a stand-alone basis and very few, unless heavily subsidised to the tune of £5-6m. per annum, are interested. Thus the real cost of not allowing the island to have a runway that could accommodate larger aircraft, whether Aurigny or not, would require unaffordable annual subsidies or start-up costs way more than the additional one-off payment of £8.5m. being asked of the Bailiwick taxpayer.

It has also been brought to our attention that much of the focus of the debate has been on the £24m. as if it was the additional cost to the taxpayer, over and above the agreed £12m. runway refurbishment. Its current state is precarious to say the least. In fact, Alderney will be paying £3.5m. towards the additional cost in the guise of a treasury loan, thus the real additional cost is £8.5m.

As big businesses and employers in the Bailiwick, we are continually made very aware that the outside world of increased regulation is a very fast and demanding beast in all sectors, not least in the aviation sector. The compulsory new baggage scanners at Guernsey airport are an example of that. It is our firm belief that Alderney Airport will be subject in the not so distant future to many more CAA regulatory requirements, nearly all of which will be covered in the extension and refurbishment programme. To merely put heads in the sand and hope the regulators stay away would be foolhardy, costly and ultimately disastrous for the future of Alderney’s airport. Any reliance on a ferry service to the island also carries huge regulatory/viability issues as well as serious meteorological challenges.

Alderney lies in one of the roughest tidal stretches in north Europe.

If Alderney financially fails, the real cost to the Bailiwick will far outweigh the sums involved in this project. The 1948 agreement comes with its responsibilities and the last thing the Bailiwick needs, as a respected Finance Centre, is to be seen to require the UK Ministry of Justice to get involved in its affairs should a dispute arise.

The latter would seriously damage our credibility in the outside world, particularly in the highly competitive offshore industry.

We believe that Alderney deserves this investment as much as any other ‘parish’ faced with a similar infrastructural predicament. A reliably-connected Alderney will mean a wealthier Alderney, reducing its current deficit to manageable levels.

It has already shown in the gambling licensing receipts that it can return many millions to the central coffers when it is given the correct tools to work with. We therefore urge you all to support this project and approve the expenditure without further delay.

Yours sincerely,

Guy Hands, CEO, Terra Firma Capital Partners

Julia Hands, chairman, Hand Picked Hotels

Gavin Rihoy, managing director, J Rihoy Ltd

Martin Belcher, chairman, Polygon Collective

Penny Ball, chairman, The Fort Group

Julie Anne Uggla, owner, The Blonde Hedgehog Group

Holly Fisher, chairman, The Georgian House Group