- Government to provide £100 million to support airports as they recover from coronavirus.
- Stansted to receive up to £8 million – enough to cover its entire Business Rates bill this year.
After raising the concerns of Hertford and Stortford residents employed at Stansted to Ministers at various government departments, Julie Marson MP has welcomed news from the Transport Secretary that Stansted Airport will receive a government grant of up to £8 million, helping to protect jobs and the local economy.
The funding will be equivalent to the Business Rates that the airport would otherwise have to pay – meaning that Stansted Airport will pay nothing in Business Rates in 2020-21.
The new funding will give a much-needed boost to the aviation sector, which has faced a challenging year after passenger numbers severely declined during the coronavirus pandemic.
Airports, airlines and other aviation businesses have also been able to draw on other government support schemes, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and Business Interruption Loans. In total, the aviation and aerospace sectors have received over £9 billion in support.
Commenting, Julie said:
“I am thrilled that Stansted will receive up to £8 million to help it protect the jobs of Hertford and Stortford residents during this challenging time.
“The airport is very important to our community. I want to pay tribute to all those who work at Stansted and particularly to those residents who reached out to me on this cause.
“This was something that I have pressed the Government on for many months so I’d like to thank my colleagues for being receptive to residents’ concerns and for providing this funding.
“Along with the Government’s new testing strategy, I hope that this funding marks a real turning point for Stansted – which supports so many jobs and businesses in our community.”
