News / Tingwall airstrip a no-go for motorsports
MOTORSPORT enthusiasts have been dealt a blow after Shetland councillors voted to prevent them from holding events at Tingwall Airport.
It overturns a previous decision in October 2012 to sanction the airport’s use for non-aviation purposes after the terms and conditions put in place for holding such events were found to contain “inaccuracies and errors”.
SIC infrastructure director Maggie Sandison said it was imperative for Tingwall to be available 24/7 all year round in case the emergency air ambulance needs to land.
Shetland Motorsport Club chairman Michael Owen said he was very disappointed with the decision, adding that Tingwall’s airstrip and the disused airport in Unst were the only places in the isles where the sport could be enjoyed.
Sandison’s report to Wednesday’s environment and transport committee showed that there were seven weekend out-of-hours emergencies requiring landings at Tingwall in 2013. There were five the year before.
Councillors heard that the air ambulance is usually expected to give 90 minutes’ notice of landings outwith normal opening hours.
In order to accommodate other events, however, Sandison said the council-owned airstrip would have to turn away medical emergencies.
Committee chairman Allan Wishart backed the report but praised the motorsport club for the “professional, courteous way they have approached this”.
“I think they have done everything they can to ensure they have a place to race their cars,” he said, “but at the end of the day this is a risk. It only needs one emergency that goes wrong, and that’s not a thing I would like to have to live with if an aircraft couldn’t get in on time.”
North Isles member Robert Henderson’s move to approve Sandison’s recommendation not to make the airport available for motorsport events was seconded by Jonathan Wills.
West Side councillor Theo Smith did protest that the council appeared to be “hamstrung with bureaucratic nonsense”, while Central ward member Davie Sandison wondered whether “we are going a step too far in terms of restricting opportunities for others”.
But neither made a formal move against the decision to reject the motorsport club’s approach.
SIC leader Gary Robinson said he had been concerned two years ago after motorsport events were moved “from a disused airspace to one that was in use”.
He added: “I think we should try to work with the motorsport club to see if we can find an alternative for them. [If they want] to test their cars to the limit it’s best that it’s done off the public highway – that can only be a benefit for everybody.”
Owen said the motorsport club had a significant influence in reducing the number of boy racers on local roads.
“What we are doing is trying to find for the younger guys to use their cars in a safe environment and nowhere near a populated area,” he said.
“We have spoken to the police who have confirmed that there are no that many boy racers, as they call it, speeding through the town because they get their fix when we are holding our track days.”
Owen added: “We are going to have to call a committee meeting and trying to see if we could get back into Unst, perhaps initially contacting the community council to find out if they want us back.
“We have been providing a lot of income for Unst, particularly for the hotel and the shops.”
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