All Sections
Scotland's National Newspaper
BREAKING
School pays tribute to pupil, 15, stabbed to death in Croydon
US winner claims £1.32 billion jackpot prize
Flights to Italy set to be disrupted as airport staff announce strike
Fergus Ewing suspended from SNP for one week after disciplinary meeting
UK's first drug consumption room approved for Glasgow
UK's first drug consumption room gets approval to open in Glasgow

Funding lift for Prestwick Airport space hub plan

Plans to create a space hub around Government-owned Prestwick Airport have received a fresh funding package of £240,000 from local government and economic development authorities.
By The Newsroom
Published 1st Jun 2016, 12:53 BST
Updated 1st Jun 2016, 13:57 BST
Officials say a spaceport at Prestwick could deliver 1,450 jobs. Picture: ContributedOfficials say a spaceport at Prestwick could deliver 1,450 jobs. Picture: Contributed
Officials say a spaceport at Prestwick could deliver 1,450 jobs. Picture: Contributed

The money, supplied equally by South Ayrshire Council and Scottish Enterprise, will fund a two-year support package covering infrastructure, business development, energy reduction and supply chain development.

It includes the appointment of a new “programme manager” to be based out of the airport’s administrative offices. The move comes as the struggling operation competes to become one of the UK’s first “spaceports” delivering small satellites and tourists into low-level orbit.

Read More
Scotland leading race to host UK’s first spaceport
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Last month’s Queen’s Speech confirmed aims to drive through the complex legislation needed to certify the safe operation of space vehicles through the Modern Transport Bill.

The Department for Transport is setting up a regulatory framework to license individual sites, with Prestwick and two other Scottish locations – Campbeltown on the west coast and Stornoway in the Western Isles – among those short-listed last year.

Should Prestwick get a licence, officials say the project could deliver as many as 1,450 jobs within ten years, with £320 million of additional economic activity. The new programme manager will work alongside a variety of organisations through the Prestwick Aerospace partnership.

Eileen Howat, chief executive of South Ayrshire Council, said it is now the right time to push forward ambitious plans for Prestwick. The Scottish Government bought the loss-making airport for £1 in 2013, and is seeking to re-build its fortunes under newly-appointed chief executive Ron Smith.