Sandra Osborne

Labour Party | Ayr, Carrick & Cumnock

Local MP welcomes announcement on new Scottish centre

Sandra Osborne, MP for Ayr Constituency, has welcomed Transport Secretary Alistair Darling's visit to Prestwick to announce the resumption of building of the new Scottish Air traffic Control Centre.

She said

"I have been fighting to get the New Scottish Centre built since the day I was elected in 1997. For over a decade it has been called into question on numerous occasions. I recognised from the outset that whatever the future structure or ownership of NATS was going to be that my priority as the local MP was to ensure that the NSC went ahead. That's why I was delighted that the Government was persuaded to accept my amendment to the Transport Bill which entrenched the NSC in legislation. Many of us feel we have been here before several times - particularly two years ago, when it was put on hold as a result of the events of September 11th.

A major worry has been that the centre is built before a "Single European Sky" is brought in by the EU and a rationalisation of Air Traffic Control Centres takes place in Europe. We will now be able to achieve that and have a state of the art centre here in Scotland retaining and creating hundreds of highly skilled jobs and making a major contribution to the Ayrshire economy.

I would like to pay tribute to the NATS Trade Unions with whom I have worked closely over the last six years. I have relied heavily on their inside knowledge and expertise. There will no doubt be many more workforce issues to pursue. For my part, I am glad that they will be pursued here in Prestwick and not in the south east of England or in another country altogether."