Oh, I agree with you 100% about the lack of future-proofing and focussing on short-term thinking and, yes, over the coming decades there will be electric aircraft which would address issues regarding noise and air pollution, but long-term thinking and keeping a giant bit of real-estate free
just in case there's suddenly a call for the airport to reopen in 20 years time is a luxury which PCC can hardly afford to have.
The bit I find interesting - not that I've researched this very deeply, so I'll probably be proved wrong in about 5 minutes
- is that I can't find any mention of taking advantage of using the airport now that Plymouth has been awarded the free-port status by the Government. Plenty of talk about a jobs boom and £100 million investment coming our way (although I'll believe that only when it happens), and talks about more investment for Devonport, Langage Energy Zone and the proposed Sherford Business Park, but nowt about how an airport could be key part of Plymouth being a free-port. Not by FlyPlymouth, not by PCC, not by the Government or any of the businesses. It simply isn't part of their strategic thinking, short-term or long-term.