Last updated 05:33, Friday, 27 June 2008

THE more flippant among us may be tempted to suspect that Hazel Blears called in Stobart Air’s planning application for Carlisle Airport, having lost her original notes in the laptop she left lying around for burglars.

But this is no time for flippancy – nor false optimism. The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government effectively has called a public inquiry into controversial airport development plans, delaying yet again the onset of long-promised city regeneration.

Airport director Richard Gordon describes the move as a kick in the teeth.

More accurately – in this long-running saga of hindered efforts to boost local economy, provide jobs and improve communications – he and disappointed Stobart boss Andrew Tinkler must be reeling from another kick in the teeth. There have been several of them.

Unsurprisingly, while still punch drunk from repeated blows, the airport’s owners and managers insist they need time for reflection; a few days to consider all options; pause for legal consultation and examination of what the implications of an inquiry might be.

Not least of those is likely to be the uncertainty of its timescale – anything from two months to two years before decisions can be delivered. And that’s a crucial consideration, when you’re trying to run a business.

Mr Tinkler has made it clear that time is of the essence if his business is to develop and remain in Carlisle. Should a clear decision be delayed by another year or two then the scheme will be dead and he will be forced to move his organisation to Cheshire.

Having already received backing for his £35m airport plans from the North West Development Agency, Cumbria Tourism, the CBI, MPs, Carlisle City and Cumbria County Councils, Mr Tinkler must wonder, as he faces this latest threatening hurdle, just how hard it has to be to bring employment and investment to a city in acknowledged urgent need of growth.