Airport hurtles towards March deadline to repay £12 million

The scale of debt racked up by Gloucestershire Airport, currently up for sale on behalf of owners Cheltenham Borough Council and Gloucester City Council, has become apparent and runs into millions.

Dear reader,

More drama at Gloucestershire Airport - or is there? Welcome to a members’ edition of The Raikes Journal.

We tried to catch up on just where the sale of the airport was going and ended up coming face-to-face with figures someone told us some time back, that the airport is actually millions of pounds in debt.

Which makes you wonder whether those thinking of a payday for the public purse if or when the sale of the local authority-owned airport goes through are going to be quids in or even able to afford a bus ticket back from Staverton.

But, as we don’t know the asking price, and Savills - the agent handling the sale - has yet to reply to our email, we don’t know. We don’t know whether Savills’ phone is red hot and the price skyrocketing, or whether it’s a more complicated picture as we suspect.

Will it or could the site be sold for houses? It would certainly make someone a lot of money. Will it remain an airport, turned into a truly viable business by the right operator? Will it be bought by a business already on the site that sees the potential?

Whatever happens, even if it stays in the hands of Cheltenham Borough Council and Glouceter City Council, someone will have to deal with the millions of pounds worth of debt racked up by a business that is, on one hand, a jewell in the crown of Gloucester and an asset to the county, and on the other hand a loss-making operation.

Remember, for every person you refer to The Raikes Journal’s email service you get points towards a free membership allowing you to see beyond our paywalls. Please do sign up (free or otherwise), send the referral link to a friend or colleague, and help us grow.

Have a great weekend.

Andrew Merrell (editor).

If you have a story, an issue, a news item, a charity or an interview you want us to write about or investigate, challenge the powers that be on, then please email me: andrew.merrell@raikesjournal.co.uk.

NB: We believe Raikes now publishes probably the best-read business-related email ‘newsletter’, pound for pound, in Gloucestershire. Readership is growing and 2025 looks good!

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Your briefing notes…

🏉 In a move that only underlines just how close the working relationship is between the two clubs, James Forrester, formerly of CEO of Gloucester Hartpury Rugby, has been appointed commercial sales director at Gloucester Rugby. All commercial activity for both the men and women will now sit at Kingsholm, continuing to unify both teams. Forrester, 43, played 144 times for the Cherry and Whites, retiring in 2008. He called his appointment a chance “to give back to a club that has given me so much”.

💷 💷 As we career towards devolution, the Gloucester City Council says it will approve what it calls a “future-focused” budget on Wednesday, 12 February. It is a budget that will mean a 2.99 per cent rise in council tax, which it calculates is an extra £6.88 a year for band D households. According to the council its aim is to ensure “the huge transformation that is currently taking place across the city” continues. Key elements include £14 million to complete the Forum regeneration project off King’s Square, £12m to develop Blackfriars Quarter, £8m for energy efficiency installations at GL1 leisure centre, £20,000 to support the plans to tackle graffiti in the city, £20,000 for a county-wide climate-change initiative, £100,000 to replace the council’s waste and recycling vehicles and £30,000 annually to improve the city’s play areas.

🎯 Cirencester Chamber of Commerce is due to hold a special networking event on Saturday, 8 February, from 11am to 2pm. The chamber is taking its members clay pigeon shooting at Hollow Fosse Clay Shoot, five miles from the Cotswold town on the A429. Cost per head is £50 and will include 50 shots, with tuition/supervision and all the necessary PPE, tea and coffee. Book via Eventbrite, if you’re quick!

🗳️ We’ve covered devolution a few times now on Raikes - the process of reshaping our local Government with the aim of delivering a more efficient service and more power to the regions. A major bone of contention and one which threatened to see local politics overshadow whatever process may or may not emerge, was whether the local elections should be postponed here in the county. The county council C Read heonservative administration said it was necessary so the county could concentrate on a speedy delivery of devolution, other accused it is standing in the way of democracy. We now know the elections will go ahead this spring. The winners are likely to be in the driving seat when it comes to devolution decisions.

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New chairwoman for Gloucester BID

Becci Zawadzki, who runs Norville Opticians on Eastgate Street, is the new chairwoman of the Gloucester BID (Business Improvement District). Zawadzki takes over from Kieron Bates, the landlord of The Fountain Inn on Westgate Street, a guiding figure chairing the board for the last five years. He is credited with taking the BID “from strength to strength through the pandemic and securing a second term” for the organisation, which exists at the request of city businesses. Vice-chairmen are Justin Hudson, the owner of Butlers on Eastgate Street, and Chris Nyland of Nettl, which has offices on Lower Quay Street. Read the full story here.

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Sporting and other highlights this weekend…

Friday:

🎶 The Longest Johns are on tour with Barcelona’s best, El Pony Pisador, and the “raucous folk double bill” arrives at Stroud’s Sub Rooms tonight at 8pm.

🎶 The UK’s hardest swinging band Down for the Count All-Stars arrive at Tewkesbury theatre The Roses at 7.30pm.

Saturday:

⚽ Cheltenham Town FC play Fleetwood at 3pm away.

⚽ Forest Green Rovers FC play Eastleigh at 3pm at home.

⚽ Gloucester City FC play Basingstoke Town at 3pm away.

🏂 🎶 AJAM Festival 2025, UK’s Largest Snowsports and Music Festival, is due to take place at Gloucester Ski & Snowboard Centre, Matson, from noon till 1am.

Sunday:

💒 🤵🏽👰🏽‍ The Gloucestershire Wedding Show at Cheltenham Racecourse from 11am-4pm.

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If you subscribe and invite friends to The Raike Journal you will earn rewards towards complimentary membership (three referrals will get you one month, 10 will get you three months and 25 will win you six months).

If you upgrade to paid you’ll be part of this CIC too. We are dedicated to delivering quality journalism for Gloucestershire, to championing the county, in particular its businesses, charities, education and training providers, and to helping create an even stronger community. If you upgrade to paid you will be able to see past the paywalls often put on our second and third email editions of the week, that lock all our archive after two weeks and lock our rolling Top 100 Businesses in Gloucestershire series. You will be able to comment on our stories too. You’ll be helping make this CIC sustainable to deliver more original articles on our county.

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Airport hurtles towards March deadline to repay £12 million

The scale of debt racked up by Gloucestershire Airport, currently up for sale on behalf of owners Cheltenham Borough Council and Gloucester City Council, has become apparent and runs into millions of pounds.

By Andrew Merrell.

Ever the political football, Gloucestershire Airport was kicked high into the air last year when owners Chelteham Borough Council and Gloucester City Council did what many feared they might - they put the Staverton site up for sale.