Sir, – TAG has been sent packing again. The 12 speakers against TAG simplified the complicated debate brilliantly; the bottom line being that planes "are" noisy, risky and polluting whereas the perceived economic benefits are just that; perceived.

If the democratic will is to be embraced then TAG's business plan is in tatters and they may decide to bail out and find an airfield that doesn't sit in the middle of an established residential area. Then what? Such has been the "noise" over the economic need to retain TAG that one could be forgiven for thinking that the region would go down the plug hole without them.

Personally I believe that the market would quickly plug any gap and that a more conscientious operator would prosper but what if we were to choose an entirely new direction for the town? The absence of any credible plan B has long distorted the debate. One obvious challenge would be how to retain the airshow without an airport. Not an easy circle to square but it has to be understood that as it is, the airshow is not pledged forever to Farnborough. SBAC could pull it whenever and I doubt any operator would mind less interruptions to their scheduling, so providing for the event in perpetuity can not be a planning consideration.

What if, rather than making reactive planning decisions against a backdrop of threats of desertion and economic armageddon, we were instead to make proactive decisions within a clear long term framework for the betterment of the whole community? The following is just one idea to help balance what is otherwise an all or nothing position.

Imagine the 549-acre site being the home of "Farnborough Cody University". Having bought them out, all of TAG's buildings and hotels could be utilised. Hundreds if not thousands more jobs would be created, thousands of students would spend their hard earned grants in local shops and would use local facilities. Students from the incredibly successful Farnborough Sixth Form College would have a local place to move on to and Farnborough Tech would have a brilliant partner over the road. The priceless locally based intellectual legacy of the RAE and Pyestock years could be properly built upon rather than built over. Local high-tech employers such as BAe, Qinetiq and CSC would have a hothouse of talent on their doorstep. House prices would rise as they do in areas of planning stability and educational excellence, landlords would have a boon and with any luck some of the next generation of Farnborough youth might chose to settle in the area like so many did from the military days.

The provision of sensational sporting facilities could build on the legacy of the Olympics and provide a hub for the great achievements elsewhere in Rushmoor. As for the preservation of our aviation history, what better monument could there be than a state of the art facility offering avionics courses at the very heart of the town. Flying need not be stopped entirely; indeed, club flying could make a comeback. I admit that the airshow as is couldn't continue but there are many other aviation based events that could be adopted and that could utilise the new facilities during holiday times.

History tells us that faced with overwhelming public opinion, courageous political change can and does happen. The Berlin wall came down, Mandela was freed, there's a peace of sorts in Ireland, the Gurkhas can settle and just today the Australian government has finally said sorry to the displaced children of yesteryear who can now begin to rebuild their lives.

How about it, Rushmoor? Is it time to say "the game's up, TAG" and to embrace a new direction that could have the support of the people whom you serve? If you can save a 100-year-old balloon factory I reckon you can turn TAG's hyper modern campus into something that would provide unprecedented social and economic progress for the next 100 years.

Glenn Morrison, Potteries Lane, Mytchett, Camberley