Editor,

The Cambrian News’ report on concern about flooding at site mooted for space port (28 November) relies extensively on quotes from people involved with this development. Even so, if seems to raise far more questions about this major infrastructure project within the national park than it answers.

The CEO of Snowdonia Aerospace LLP admits that “a large part of the initial design of the space port is on flood land”. So why has a spokesman for Gwynedd Council, which plans to contribute millions towards the project, told the Cambrian News that “This programme of improvement works are [sic] within areas of the site which are designated for development, and are not considered to be at risk from flooding”?

And why does the same spokesman say that, “as a separate matter, the council is looking to construct a bypass to the village of Llanbedr” when, from its inception in 2013, the council has described this new road project as only being an approach road to the Enterprise Zone, which they claim is essential for any development there? And also, bypasses do not go “to” villages, they conduct traffic past them so that vital rural communities die.

We also learn that Snowdonia Aerospace’s project now “includes a visitor centre, planetarium, observatory, and hotel as well as world-class training facilities for astronauts and the aero-medical centre”. Doesn’t that sound rather like yet another glorified leisure development with lots of low-paid seasonal catering and service jobs, not a prospect of “highpaid jobs … employing local people” that our Gwynedd councillor is quoted as claiming are in the pipeline?

I wonder if there will ever be some hard questioning about this project?

Tony Newbery, Llanbedr.

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