Llanbedr airstrip is a shamefully desolate stretch of land that hasn’t seen any action in a long time, but that could all be about to change with the introduction of a new spaceport. This hasn’t stopped locals from airing their grievances about the project and it could even lead to the idea being dropped altogether.
The old RAF site near Harlech has been shortlisted as one of eight potential locations in Europe for the technical marvel that will allow travel for wealthy space tourists for as little as £120,000 and also launch satellites into orbit for special missions. You may not mix Snowdonia and outer space instantly in your mind but it could very well become a reality.
Despite plenty of jobs being created from the build, there has been plenty of consternation from locals with John Harold of the Snowdonia Society charity being particularly worried: “The government is holding its cards close. Not even the national park has been given the information. No one really knows what it might entail. We are all in the dark,” he said.
“We do not know what options are being considered, or whether the developments would be appropriate. But it takes a lot of imagination to see how a spaceport makes best use of the scenic beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage of the national park. Something on this scale could seriously affect the spectacular scenery.”
The frontrunner for the project has to be any of those from Scotland as there are currently 6 of them competing for the project. Whether the likes of Snowdonia can snap up the rights with such opposition remains to be seen, but it would be quite the surprise.
“Our vision is that the spaceport would be the centre of a cluster of industries that is expected to develop,” said a spokesman for the UK Space Agency. “We want Britain to get a big slice of the estimated $40bn-a-year market. This is a consultation into the criteria to be used to choose the site. There will be a whittling down process.”
“Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo Flight Profile” by www.flickr.com/photos/amphalon, license: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0 – 06/10/2014
