A potential hurdle to the creation of Prestwick Spaceport, and more than 4000 new jobs, has been removed.
This week it was revealed that there will be no need for an in-depth environmental survey as part of a planning application.
The news comes as Prestwick Aerospace made the bold claim that Ayrshire would be home to Europe’s leading spaceport, providing ‘micro gravity flights, satellite launches, human space flight and hypersonic flights’ in less than 15 years.
The development, one of the pillars of the Ayrshire Growth Deal, expects the first commercial rockets to be launched by the end of 2023, providing it is licensed.
The company was required to submit a screening report to South Ayrshire Council, so they could determine whether the construction of the facility would be likely to affect the environment and require a more in-depth assessment.
READ MORE: Rocket launches from Western Isles ahead of planned spaceport opening
Council planners have now confirmed that they will not require an Environmental Impact Assessment, making the route to planning approval simpler.
A council spokesperson said: “The council’s planning service has commented on the screening report for the proposed spaceport at Glasgow Prestwick Airport: “The council concludes that the proposed development at, Glasgow Prestwick Airport, is not likely to result in effects on the environment that are sufficiently significant to require the submission of an environmental impact assessment.”
The spaceport developers say it is “on track to become the continent’s leading space hub” as it steps up its marketing and operational efforts, whilst moving forward with launch partner discussions..
It is now setting out to create an ‘unrivalled’ space supply-chain network, thanks to access by road, rail, sea and air.
A milestone is expected to be reached in the near future, with confirmation of its first partnership with a launch provider, which would make Prestwick its international base, with the first commercial rocket launches taking place from autumn 2023.
READ MORE: Scotland's biggest landowner fails in bid to block spaceport plan
Mick O’Connor, programme director of Prestwick Spaceport said: “To date we have largely flown under the radar, making sure we put the spaceport in the best possible position to deliver its immense potential.
“Now feels like the right time to truly set out our stall. Prestwick Spaceport’s novel launch solution should excite people, whether they are local or within the space sector.
“So much is in our favour. We feel the Spaceport can define the economy locally as well as put the UK at the forefront of commercial space launch globally.
“Not only are we planning for spaceflight capability for 2023, but we are also building the commercial infrastructure to support it, as well as manufacturing and significant supply chain capability, all of which will build on Prestwick’s long-established heritage within aerospace and aviation.”
The developers anticipate investment that will create more than 4000 new jobs while ‘positioning Scotland as a key player in the increasingly competitive global space race’.
Copy supplied by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel