PEEL AIPORTS’ apparent offer to keep Durham Tees Valley Airport open for up to ten years in exchange for a release from its Teesside Pension Fund obligations and a “green light” to build housing on airport land is worth little and suits Peel in any case (D&S Times, Sept 18).

The housing first has to make it into Darlington’s emerging Local Plan. That plan then has to be finalised, reviewed by a Planning Inspector and adopted. Only after all of that – which will take until late 2016 – will Peel submit the required planning application. The earliest it is likely to start the housing is therefore mid 2017.

However, other developers have got in ahead of Peel in Middleton St George and have already secured permission for at least 250 houses. Peel is unlikely to start building houses in competition. Even when it eventually starts – say in 2018/19 – the rate of build is likely to be relatively slow to match supply with demand. Thus the proposed 400 houses may take five or more years to complete, taking us up to 2023-24 – just short of ten years from now.

Peel advises that airport operations are now cash neutral, so the status quo (ie: limited flights) is likely to prevail for the next decade while it progresses the housing and business aviation park. Meanwhile the value of the airfield as building land will continue to rise.

In ten years’ time, Peel will be looking to execute next steps – probably the extension of the housing across the airfield.

So Peel’s offer changes nothing. The threat to close the airport does not go away; it only becomes more real.

The only solution is for somebody to buy the airport back.

Stephen Mitchell, Redcar