PEEL Holdings owns Durham Tees Valley Airport with our six local authorities being minority shareholders. Peel operates very successfully a number of airports around the country.
So why is Peel asking for a £4.65m hand-out from the Regional Growth Fund when in 2012 it made a profit of £55.2m?
The airport is part of our local history. It started as RAF Goosepool in the 1940s and when the RAF used it as a base for the Lightning, the only Mark 2 jetfighter, the runway had to be extended to 2,000 yards.
This makes Durham Tees Valley unique as any aircraft can land safely there.
And yet it is idle. The only reason Peel doesn’t want to use it is because it doesn’t need it.
JM Gowland, Heighington.
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