City of Busselton seeks pilot interest in hangars

Aviation enthusiasts are being encouraged to again express their interest in renting hangars at the Busselton-Margaret River Airport as the City of Busselton makes a second attempt at attracting pilots. The call for interest comes as the City council has approved a decision to allocate $210,000 from the draft budget to the construction of aviation hangars, despite a lack of interest in 2018. Following the completion of the airport redevelopment project in 2018, the City of Busselton advertised registrations of interest to lease vacant hangar lots to recreational pilots. At the time only three registrations were received and no leases were entered into, with feedback including costs and short lease terms, leaving the precinct vacant. However, the decision made last week now incorporates changes from the feedback and hopes to attract general and recreational pilots to fill the lot. The new proposal includes construction of three hangars costing $70,000 each for a 6 per cent return on City investment, totalling $5700 a year. According to City of Busselton manager economic and business development services Jennifer May, while there’s no money allocated in the draft budget yet, the City’s long-term financial plan would fund the proposal. “The City’s Long Term Financial Plan indicates there are funds available in the Airport Infrastructure Renewal Reserve over the next three years that could be used for the construction,” she wrote in the agenda item to councillors. “Alternatively, if the EOI for constructed hangars / leases resulted in a positive outcome then the City could consider borrowing funds so that the Reserve is not impacted.” With the council’s support, the EOI’s will be released within the next month and construction to be completed before November if leases were entered into.