The Town of Golden in central-eastern British Columbia recently retained HM Aero, an aviation consulting company, to study the town’s airport and make recommendations on whether the land should continue to be used as an airport, or the land be repurposed to achieve a greater economic benefit for the community.

The study, first reported by eFlight on June 25, 2020, was presented to Golden Town Council at their regular council meeting on October 20. The report called for the airport to be retained as a registered aerodrome.

HM Aero recommended that the town prepare a ‘strategic and tactical plan’ to ensure that airport infrastructure be maintained into the future. The Town of Golden received the report and unanimously adopted a motion to continue operating the site as a registered aerodrome and move forward to create a strategic and tactical plan as recommended.

HM Aero conducted extensive stakeholder consultations, including an information session via Zoom in June, online surveys with input from both businesses and residents (which garnered 634 responses), in-person, 51 phone and videoconference calls held with 38 different organizations. Industry associations, including COPA and the BC General Aviation Association, also provided input.

The complete study is appended below.

Photo courtesy HM Aero/Town of Golden