Deputy mayor Cr Adam Roberts put forward a proposal to Wednesday night’s Port Macquarie-Hastings Council meeting which would have opened up the possibility but the recommendation was defeated.

The proposal, which if successful, would have yielded the current and potential future market value of the airport, followed by an expression of interest process for the potential long-term lease or sale of the airport, and another report to the council.

But the recommendation was defeated six votes to two, with Cr Roberts and Cr Sharon Griffiths in favour.

Cr Roberts said the council had a good process underway in planning for the future of the airport and he didn’t want to detract from that.

The deputy mayor told the meeting he wanted to start a conversation about the potential long-term lease or sale of the airport. “This is an information gathering exercise, with an expression of interest in the middle, to give us the best possible information to base such a decision on,” he said.

An investment firm has recently approached the council about its willingness to discuss a long-term lease or sale option for the Port Macquarie Airport. 

No offer is on the table.

A recent $21 million airport upgrade paves the way for larger planes. The council-owned airport is self-funded by revenue from airport operations.

Cr Roberts’s comments in the council business paper said catering for the expected, continuing and solid growth of the local government area, and also the increasing need to invest in large infrastructure to support such growth, it would be prudent for the council to investigate options to fund priority infrastructure needs through any available means.