Calls for citizens’ assembly to decide future of Gloucestershire Airport
After the collapse of the sale of Gloucestershire Airport to Horizon Aerospace there are calls for a citizen's assembly to decide the significant site's fate.
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There are calls for residents to have more of a say on the future of Gloucestershire Airport in the form of a citizens’ assembly.
Plans to sell the 375-acre site in Staverton, which is jointly owned by Cheltenham Borough Council and Gloucester City Council, fell through earlier this month after more than eight months of negotiations.
Horizon Aero Group, the preferred bidder, was unable to raise the capital required to complete the purchase of the site.
The councils are now exploring a number of potential options for the airport but there is not expected to be any immediate impact on the day-to-day operation of the airport or the businesses based there.
And council chiefs say their main priority with the airport now is to maintain its operational continuity and support the many aviation-related businesses based at the airfield.
But Green Party councillors in Cheltenham believe a citizens’ assembly should be set up to allow residents to have their say on the airport’s future.
A citizens’ assembly is a group of people who are brought together to learn about and discuss an issue and reach conclusions about what they think should happen.
Cheltenham Borough Councillor Tabi Joy (G, St Paul’s) said: “The failed plan to sell Staverton Airport does, at least, allow us a second chance to get it right.
“Thousands of people live alongside the airport or beneath the flightpaths, or work on the business park.
“We all have a stake in this. We need to engage with local people to find a way forward, instead of excluding them.
“The Greens want to see a citizens’ forum to determine what the use of the site should be going ahead.
“Cheltenham Borough Council and Gloucester City Council are caretakers of the site, and we act on behalf of the people who live here. But why not directly include them?
“A meaningful citizens’ assembly would be cost-effective and could investigate every element of the site and a transfer into a new phase of use.
“Together we could produce very innovative ideas that reflect local needs, both for now and for the future, and prioritise what people actually want to see instead of just doing what we’ve always done.
“We deserve to have more influence over where we live, and we have an amazing chance to create something great that serves the people living here.”
By Carmelo Garcia, local democracy reporter for Gloucestershire. carmelo.garcia@reachplc.com