Airport Council decision means sale of site

THE sale of Gloucestershire Airport will now go ahead as City chiefs gave their approval.

- Carmelo GARCIA Local Democracy Reporter

The 350-acre Staverton airport is jointly owned by Cheltenham Borough and Gloucester City Council.

The site is run by Gloucestershire Airport Limited which was established in 1993 and of which both councils have a 50 per cent shareholding.

But the two authorities revealed in November 2023 their intention to dispose of the site which has struggled commercially.

The airport was put up for sale in October last year and marketed by Savills with a guide price of £25m.

Leaders at both authorities and the airport company have stressed the site is being sold as a going concern.

And Gloucester City Councillors decided at the special meeting at North Warehouse to empower chiefs to complete the sale to the recommended bidder.

Members were briefed behind closed doors earlier this month about the sale - however, it is understood that they were not told who the preferred bidder was.

Public transport campaigner David Redgewell was present at the meeting and asked several questions and asked how strong the covenant would be to prevent the airport from being redeveloped.

He said: "How are we making sure the successor authorities are going to take account of protecting that airport as an operations airport?"

He asked if the covenant would last for 150 years and whether it is strong enough to prevent a future Gloucestershire unitary council from allowing housing development.

Council leader Jeremy Hilton (LD, Kingsholm and Wotton) said the covenant will be robust and will be negotiated in detail with the buyer who are "serious about operating the site as an airport".

He said it was suggested that the maximum would be 50 years and those legal agreements would be transferred directly to any new local authority which would succeed the two councils.