Meeting of the Parliament 28 April 2015
How prescient of Mr McGrigor. I was just coming to that point, which features in the Campbeltown airport briefing. The airport has been approved twice for space flight—once by NASA and once by Virgin Galactic—so it has an advantage over all the other contenders.
Campbeltown is also a community-owned facility—that is an important point for the Scottish Government with its enthusiasm for community ownership. It has 1,000 acres of opportunity. There are 50 companies already operating on the site, but there is no shortage of space. It also has three jet fuel storage facilities and is capable of taking a substantial amount of fuel. If the fuel for the space flights were to be hydrogen, it could be produced from the existing renewable energy plants on the Kintyre peninsula.
On every criterion, there is an argument to be made for Campbeltown that is every bit as good as the argument for Prestwick. I do not want to see the matter as one place against the other, although that is what we have come down to. Mr Ingram’s view that there might be a possibility of collaboration is a good one, and I would like that to happen.
The people of Campbeltown ask—indeed, demand—that there should be a level playing field when the Scottish location is considered. It is fairly obvious that Campbeltown has the longest and most level playing field of any of the Scottish contenders. I hope that the Government will continue to take it seriously.