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www.glasgowchamberofcommerce.com PRESIDENT
Passion for improved public transport links
Jim McHarg, President
president@glasgowchamberofcommerce.com
It was a pleasure to welcome our new directors into the Chamber fold at the annual meeting and I look forward to their contributions throughout the year. After the annual meeting, I had the privilege of hosting the President’s dinner which gave nine of our newly appointed directors the opportunity to network and get to know their fellow directors, the board members, past presidents and the Chamber team. The dinner is a modest thank you to our council directors
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for their diligent work, which they undertake for the good of business in the city. It never ceases to amaze me how professional people give up their time to support the Chamber’s work in many different ways. At the dinner, we were privileged to hear from one
of our new council directors, Derek Provan, who is the CEO of AGS Group who run Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton airports. Derek gave us all a fascinating insight into the
performance, opportunities and challenges facing Glasgow Airport.
In particular, he spoke about the need to
balance the requirements of the budget airlines with the aspirations of the larger domestic and long-haul airlines. He also gave us an indication of the massive amount of freight which moves through the airport. Glasgow Airport is the undoubted air freight capital of Scotland and it is here for the long term. What came across loud and clear was the excitement at Glasgow Airport about the arrival of the Airbus A380 plane from Emirates in April, capable of flying over 500 passengers into Scotland. A great deal of
s I write this message, it has been a busy start to 2019 for the Chamber with the Annual General Meeting and The Glasgow Business Awards Sponsors’ Lunch bringing January to a close.
preparation work is being undertaken to allow this massive super jumbo to land and therefore disperse its passengers at the airport. But Derek also raised another matter which is pertinent
to the city and all Chamber members; that is the thorny issue of the public transport link from the airport to the city centre. The increasing congestion and unacceptable journey times on the M8 make this project a no-brainer. Derek asked for the Chamber’s continuing support in the bid to make sure that this project is put firmly back on the agenda. As one Chamber director put it: “It has been kicked into the long grass for too long”. What was alarming was that UK Government money, which has been set aside for the project, could be withdrawn for other projects unless a decision is made. This could mean the Glasgow region losing out on tens of millions of pounds to build the new transport link. I was taken by how passionate the Chamber council directors were about this issue. The vision of a rail link between the airport and the city (GARL) was first mooted in 2001; the year in which my daughter was born. As a Chamber, we must stand up for projects like this that enhance the commercial activity of our city, so we must voice our support and emphasise the need
for the Glasgow Airport rail access project and for it to be given the green light as soon as possible. The airport has big growth ambitions which in turn will help grow the economic strength of the city and sell Glasgow as the gateway to Scotland. I’m sure you will all agree that we need Transport Scotland and Scotland’s Transport Secretary to make sure that this matter is at the top of their respective agendas. Let’s hope the project is well underway when my daughter turns 21 years old … we cannot wait another generation.
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