Gloucestershire Airport sale collapses
After months of uncertainty the attempt by the local authority owners of Gloucestershire Airport to sell the 375-acre site and business parks has fallen apart.
Dear readers,
Welcome to a Thursday single story from The Raikes Journal.
Whether this takes place of Friday’s whole edition yet remains to be seen, but this story appeared in our sights and we diverted energy straight to it.
Anyone who follows the saga of Gloucestershire Airport will possibly only sigh at the latest development. You may not feel it’s important at all. But if you live in Gloucester or Cheltenham, this deal could have won you back at least £12 million the airport owes you as a taxpayer.
Some argue the sale of the site could net considerably more - much disputed by the local authorities that own the airport - a sum in excess of £300 million, if sold for houses. That would wipe debts out everywhere and give transformative money to the county.
And then there are the businesses on the airport site, of which there are many. The airport has long been a political football, its story often mired in local politics. Businesses were relatively used to that. But this chapter has been particularly difficult.
For a county also trying to build confidence around another local authority-led project, the ‘once in a lifetime’ Golden Valley Development, it also doesn’t make for great reading.
What next?
What next indeed.
Best regards,
Andrew Merrell (editor).
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Gloucestershire Airport sale collapses
After months of uncertainty attempts by the local authority owners of Gloucestershire Airport to sell the 375-acre site and business parks has fallen apart.
By Andrew Merrell.
It was only Friday last week when The Raikes Journal spoke to Horizon Aero Group about its purchase of Gloucestershire Airport after the deadline seemed to be slipping again, and it confirmed “talks were continuing”.
Today we’ve learned that businesses which operate from the airport, many of which have halted investment plans while uncertainty reigned over the site’s future, have been told that deal is off.
Much championed by the airport’s owners, Gloucester City Council and Cheltenham Borough Council, the Anglo-Indian partnership had apparently offered north of £25 million for the Staverton site.
All along the local authorities had sought to reassure everyone via a stream of social media releases that any new owner would be forced to commit to keeping the site operational as an airport, and not sell it for houses.
Speculation from some quarters had suggested the land would be worth more than £300 million to £400m if sold for housing development, and there was even talk that this would be a more sensible move to clear debts at the airport and both councils.
But the council remained adamant this would not happen and Horizon Aero Group was the best prospect, having offered significantly more than any other party that had come forward.
