Shoreham airport was one of the first to be established in Britain but it has never really reached its full potential.

Other airports which developed later, such as Gatwick and Heathrow, have grown to a far greater extent.

Now the airport is not all that far from suburban housing, it could never become anything like a mini-Heathrow.

But there is the opportunity to develop commuter and leisure services to other airports in Britain and some on the Continent.

This is now being considered by the airport committee consisting of councillors from Worthing Borough and Brighton and Hove City Councils.

Extending the runway and increasing the number of flights is bound to create outrage from neighbours of the airport.

But the new generation of commuter planes is quiet and would probably make far less noise than the aircraft of enthusiasts which fly over the area every fine weekend.

Full consultation is needed with the neighbours before any plans are eventually considered by a public inquiry.

And it would be a good idea to get Adur District Council, which represents the residents, properly involved in running the airport instead of being an outsider.