Gloucestershire Airport put up for sale

The site in Staverton is jointly owned by Cheltenham Borough Council and Gloucester City Council.

But both authorities have decided to list the 350-acre Staverton site with international real estate advisors Savills.

The airport, which was established in the 1930s, is run by Gloucestershire Airport Ltd of which each of the councils has a 50 per cent shareholding.

Late last year it was revealed that moves were afoot to consider selling the site. And it has now been listed for sale.

But opposition councillors in Gloucester want a full economic impact assessment to be carried out before the airport is sold.

Labour group leader Terry Pullen (L, Moreland) said: “We are seriously concerned about the long term future of Gloucestershire airport and the impact any potential sale would have on the local economy.

“There are many businesses located in and around the airport and we must ensure their future security and the employment they provide.

“We are therefore calling for a full economic impact assessment to be carried out before any decision is made to sell the airport.

“This will establish the effect any potential sale would have on businesses, jobs and the wider economy. We will also be insisting that any decision on whether to sell will be brought to a full meeting of Gloucester City Council.”

Conservative group leader Stephanie Chambers (C, Quedgeley Fieldcourt) said her group is pleased with the decision which is in line with what the previous Tory administration at North Warehouse wanted to do.

“I can’t really criticise Jeremy Hilton for taking some time to make sure it was the right thing,” she said. “It is a big decision.”

Community Independent leader Alastair Chambers (Matson, Robinswood and White City) said his group was disappointed City Council rejected calls to introduce scheduled passenger flights across Europe from Gloucestershire Airport with airlines like EasyJet.

“However, Gloucester Community Independents are excited for the next chapter of Gloucestershire Airport, eager to see how it can soar to new heights without being held back by the constraints of an ineffective and incompetent city council,” he said.

“We are confident that under new ownership, the airport will finally have the opportunity to offer scheduled European passenger flights, which will attract tourists, generate business revenue, and create exciting new opportunities for the county.

“This fresh approach should revitalise Gloucestershire’s economy, injecting new energy, investment, and ambition into our local businesses.”

In Cheltenham, People Against Bureaucracy Councillor Stan Smith (Prestbury) says the airport would be ideal for short haul flights to Europe.

He said: “Talk of the sale has been going on for a long time. My concern with selling it is what the place could be used as an airport.

“It would provide a lot of easy commuting to Europe but nobody seems to want to take that on. The runways are long enough to take some of the planes not big planes but some mini jets. It used to have a Channel Island hopper at one stage but that disappeared.”

Meanwhile, Ashley Davies (St Pauls), Green group leader at CBC, said the carbon and air quality impact of the airport are concerning but there are social considerations to take into account too such as the noise and air pollution from planes which immediately impacts all people nearby.

“It would be great to see levies introduced on private flights taking place on site that invest in our local infrastructure, as there are many private and hobby flights taking place on the site, and I would personally prefer that it is not simply be a playground for the wealthy,” she said.

“Maybe the future of this site could be affordable housing to meet the growing needs for homes, a solar energy park, or other community benefits that maintain the green belt of the Golden Valley. It would be great to see a levy introduced to benefit local communities. We have an opportunity now to see a new future materialise”

Councillor Tabi Joy (G, St Pauls), overview and scrutiny committee chair at Cheltenham Borough Council, said that while the airport has been a publicly-owned asset for almost a century, and at the whim of various economic conditions, the next 100 years will be very unpredictable in so many ways. We need to proceed with full awareness of that.

“As such, the overview and scrutiny committees for both Cheltenham and Gloucester are presently putting forward representatives from each council to ensure that the disposal of the site is conducted in a responsible way that’s sensitive to area needs.

“The public and their representatives need to exert influence over future development. It doesn’t just come down to an economic argument to deliver urgent funding after more than a decade of austerity.

“I would really welcome the engagement of local people in sharing ideas for how the site could be managed in the future as we have an opportunity to influence the outcome. A citizens assembly would be a terrific way to do it, and very forward-thinking.”

Both councils in Cheltenham and Gloucester want any sale of the airport to ensure the site’s continues as the “premier general aviation airport in the Southwest”. The airport’s prime position makes it a busy gateway for business travel, flight training and private aviation, they say.

The airport has two primary tarmac runways and advanced navigation systems, which have enabled it to accommodate 66,106 aircraft movements, according to CAA statistics, ranking it the UK’s busiest ‘general aviation’ airport in 2023.

The Gloucestershire Airport site already has two thriving business parks spanning around 700,000 square feet, plus planning consent for an additional 320,000 square feet of business space on development land.

Gloucestershire Airport Limited holds the long leasehold interest in the majority of the site under seven leasehold titles and owns the freehold interest in the land where the main airport access road is situated.

Between 2021 and 2022 the airport received almost £10 million of capital investment funded by the Gloucestershire Local Enterprise Partnership, Gloucester City and Cheltenham Borough Councils, in the runways and associated infrastructure..