Central Bedfordshire Council has granted outline planning permission for a new Air Park at Cranfield Airport.
The project will see the airport gain new aircraft hangars and a business terminal, new office space, a hotel and various upgrade works. The Air Park will be developed over two separate phases, with the potential to generate more than 600 new jobs. Completion is expected by 2024.
The Air Park plans will help the university build on its ambition to develop a state-of-the-art airport for private jets and to help maintain the airport for its research objectives.
Rob Abbott, director of aviation operations at Cranfield University, said, “This is an exciting time for Cranfield Airport. Together with the installation of the remote-control tower, the development of these new facilities will mean Cranfield Airport is one of the UK’s premier private business airports, underlined by its strategic location.”
Jason Longhurst, Central Bedfordshire Council’s director for regeneration, added, “This development will bring a positive enhancement to the economy of both Cranfield and the wider region, providing significant employment opportunities within Central Bedfordshire.
“Cranfield is at the cutting edge of innovation and aerospace research and development, so these are plans that chime with both our growing high-performance technologies sector, which has demonstrated significant growth, and also the government’s ambitions for the Oxford to Cambridge arc.”
