Alderney runway plans need 'radical' rethink

Plans to upgrade Alderney's runway are to be scaled back

Plans to upgrade Alderney's airport runway are to be scaled-back as the States of Guernsey has announced proposals to reform Bailiwick finances.

A policy letter from the Policy & Resources Committee (P&R) says the projected costs for the extension project have exceeded the £24m budget allocated.

Deputy Lyndon Trott, president of P&R said: "We cannot ignore the challenging fiscal situation that the States of Guernsey finds itself in" and a "radical reconsideration" of the project was needed.

Trott said a "constitutional community" would be set up later this year to rethink the management of Bailiwick finances under the 1948 agreement between Guernsey and Alderney.

'Paramount importance'

The agreement is a post-war deal which saw Guernsey take over responsibility for Alderney's most important public services.

The States said P&R aimed to have the commission established by the summer and an interim report drafted later in the year.

Under previous proposals Alderney's runway would have been extended in length and width, in addition to the construction of a new terminal and fire station.

The best bid to come out of the tender process, from engineering group RPS, was set to cost £37m.

Bill Abel, chair of Alderney's Policy & Finance Committee, said plans to debate the constitutional arrangements of the island were "long-awaited" and for the "benefit the Bailiwick as a whole".

Abel said the rehabilitation of the airport remains of "paramount importance to Alderney" adding "we look forward to engaging with the States of Guernsey on taking both of these matters forward."