By Ewan Pate, farming editor

RAY JONES, chief executive of the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS) yesterday expressed fears that the proposed takeover of BAA by Spanish building group Ferrovial will mean yet more delays in the outcome of the ongoing battle to remain at the society’s current home at Ingliston.

Mr Jones, who has been chief executive of the society for the last eight years, said yesterday, “We have already been waiting for the detail of the planned expansion of Edinburgh airport since December 2003.

“BAA has kept us waiting for 21/2 years and we still don’t know exactly how it intends to use our land as part of its expansion. We need to see this detail to see what justification BAA has for wanting to force us off our own 300-acre grounds.”

Ferrovial, which has construction and infrastructure interests including motorway construction, has lodged a bid valuing BAA at just over £10 billion. However, there may be more uncertainty on the way because a group headed by merchant bankers Goldman Sachs have until Friday to lodge a rival bid. If the group was to succeed it might split up assets for sale which would inevitably cause even more delay.

“We have no view on the business rationale of the takeover, other than there will be increased pressure on the company to improve its economic rate of return and hence increased prices from a monopoly operator.

“However, our main concern is how the outcome might impact on the future of RHASS, ” said Mr Jones.

“We can only assume that a successful takeover will mean delays in decisions about future development and expansion of all the BAA airports.

“In the meantime, we continue to suffer planning and business blight and these delays can only increase delays and expense. We therefore feel that while we continue to wait, the minister should remove the planning restriction placed on us at the time of the White Paper.

“It can’t be right that 21/2 years on, with no end in sight in the near future, that this still applies.

“Why should the BAA have everything their own way? It is losing us opportunities while this planning blight is in place.

“For example the MacRobert Pavilion is ready for change, but we cannot move until we know what is happening,” he added.

The RHASS has argued since the Government’s Aviation White Paper was published in December 2003 that the airport’s expansion could proceed without forcing the society off its site. However, as a contingency it has commissioned a feasibility study to look at an alternative site widely believed to be on agricultural land across the dual carriageway to the south.

There are big decisions ahead for RHASS but following last week’s vote on corporate governance they will be taken by the full board. An extraordinary meeting held last week rejected a proposal to reduce the powers of the 59 directors and vest them in a board of only 10 or 11 trustees.

Ferrovial, BAA and Goldman Sachs may have huge financial clout, but at least the RHASS will be able to outnumber them in terms of directors.