Shoreham was one of the first

airports in Britain and early aviation pioneers might have expected it to become a real high flyer.

But it has remained a little local

airfield while Gatwick up the road has become one of the busiest in the world.

No one is suggesting that Shoreham, a green area in the middle of the

built- up Sussex coast, could or should in any way rival Gatwick.

But it is crying out for more investment to fulfil a local need for flying.

If you live in Brighton or Worthing and have a hankering to fly to France or big British cities, it would be much easier to depart from Shoreham than to go through all the palaver of getting to Gatwick and going through a system designed for a big international airport.

Yet successive efforts to get scheduled services running from Shoreham have never come to much thanks to

little local difficulties with the runway, the commitment of the management, opposition from local residents and trouble with Customs.

Now the opportunity is better than it has ever been.

The runway can be used in all weathers, a study by consultants has shown there is an interest both from operators and passengers and new aircraft should not cause much noise for neighbours.

Regular services will be a boon for local business people and holiday-makers. They will also provide much-needed income for the two councils running the airfield, Worthing and Brighton and Hove.

Good things have happened at Shoreham over the last 20 years after a long period when it was in the dumps.

At last it has stopped making a loss. The lovely art deco terminal is in good nick and the clock has been restored.

Firms associated with the airport provide a couple of thousand jobs, more than any other company in the area.

The amalgamation of Brighton and Hove councils means the number of councils running it has been reduced from three to two, eliminating some bureaucracy.

But council operations can still be cumbersome. How much better it would be if the airport was operated by a company able to make instant decisions under overall civic control.

This idea is being studied at the moment. It would have the great advantage of allowing more investment into Shoreham, something that is difficult for cash-starved councils to manage. This in turn could attract more companies and operators to the airport.

Two improvements are badly needed. One is to improve access by road, which is pretty ramshackle at the moment. But this would cost a fair amount of cash. The other is to build a railway station. This would be an attractive proposition to Connex or their successors if scheduled air services arrive.

Shoreham need sacrifice little or any of its country charm through these changes. But it should become an

airport much more for the thousands who live nearby rather than the few with their own private flying machines.

lDAN, the Department of Appropriate Names, was pleased to hear of the

peeress promoting a Bill in the Lords to make hedges subject to the statutory law of nuisance. She is Baroness

Gardner of Parkes.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.