Agenda and minutes

To receive from Members, declarations of the existence of any disclosable pecuniary, or non-pecuniary, interests and the nature of those interests in relation to any agenda item. Please see Agenda notes.

There were no declarations of interest.

To declare if any issues to be covered in the Agenda are under party whip.

There were no declarations of party whipping.

To receive any questions from members of the public provided that a question does not relate to:

·       Matters which are the subject of current or pending legal proceedings or

·       Matters relating to employees or former employees of the Council or comments in respect of individual Council Officers.

To ask a question at this meeting, please submit it to democratic.services@gloucester.gov.uk by 12 noon on Wednesday 20^th September 2023 or telephone (01452) 396203 for support.

There were no public questions.

To receive any petitions and deputations provided that no such petition or deputation is in relation to:

·       Matters relating to individual Council Officers, or

·       Matters relating to current or pending legal proceedings.

There were no petitions nor deputations.

To receive an overview of Gloucestershire Airport’s 10 Year Business Plan and 2023 finance update.

40.1    Following introductions from the Leader of the Council, Councillor Richard Cook, the Airport Director and Interim Head of Finance and HR for Gloucestershire Airport Ltd (GAL) delivered a presentation on key matters of interest, including an overview of the Airport Director’s current priorities for Gloucestershire Airport, an update on the Business Plan refresh and a 2023 Finance Report. The Airport Director and Interim Head of Finance and HR for GAL also provided an overview of the latest position on staffing, including the appointment of a Deputy Head of Operations, CGX Development update and ongoing projects around the airport’s green credentials and Environmental Policy.

40.2    Councillor Wilson referred to the narrative in the presentation regarding improving communication with tenants and asked whether there had been an improvement in relations. The Airport Director confirmed that in his view, relationships with tenants were in a better place. He explained that the Chairman of Gloucestershire Airport had asked him to focus on customer relationships as a key priority, and that he had held face to face meetings with all key tenants with indications of progress.

40.3    Councillor Wilson asked for further information around training opportunities for air traffic controllers and commercial pilots. The Airport Director explained that Gloucestershire Airport provided commercial pilot training, whereby students with no experience could complete a course costing around £125k for a Commercial Pilot License. In relation to air traffic controllers, he explained that many airports outsourced their air traffic control staff however this was managed in-house at Gloucestershire Airport. The Airport Director confirmed that the airport accepted amateur students and once they obtained their air traffic control license, they needed to demonstrate to the regulator active controlling in Gloucestershire as air traffic control is site specific. The Interim Head of Finance further added that the cost of taking the course was around £41k over 3 and a half years.

40.4    In response to a further question from Councillor Wilson regarding finances and the airport’s profit, the Interim Head of Finance confirmed that the airport had seen additional consultancy costs for the CGX development, and associated marketing and data collection costs had had an impact on the 2022/23 profits.

40.5    Councillor Hilton referred to the national air traffic control shortage and noted his understanding that the UK previously relied on attracting many air traffic controllers from overseas. He asked whether the UK leaving the EU had had any impact on recruitment. The Interim Head of Finance and HR confirmed that Gloucestershire Airport did employ overseas staff. She explained that prior to Brexit, it was expected that the UK and EU licenses would be merged, however this involved two separate regulatory authorities and had not yet happened in practice. This said, she noted that pilots using Gloucestershire Airport were in a good location as they could make use of flight paths into Guernsey and Jersey, and subsequent further journeys over to France.

40.6    In response to an additional question from Councillor Hilton regarding whether the resurfaced runway had had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 40.

Monday 2^nd October 2023 at 6.30pm in Civic Suite, North Warehouse.

Monday 2^nd October 2023 at 6.30pm in Civic Suite, North Warehouse.