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BBC News
a day ago
- Business
- BBC News
Gloucestershire Airport to be sold for more than £25m
Gloucestershire Airport will be sold for more than it's £25m guide price, councillors have of Gloucester City Council (GCC) gave the final go-ahead to the unnamed preferred bidder at a meeting on Thursday evening, pending due diligence by GCC and Cheltenham Borough Council, the 350-acre airport in Staverton was put on the market with a guide price of £25m in October 2024, and in the meeting it was revealed that the selected bidder had offered above that leader, Jeremy Hilton, said he was "confident" that the new owners would make a success of the site, adding: "We've done everything we possibly can." Several weeks of checks will now be undertaken, with the sale expected to be completed by identity of the buyer is expected to be revealed next week, according to the Local Democracy Reporting at both authorities and the airport itself have stressed the site is being sold as a going some councillors and campaigners have raised fears about the viability of the business and the potential for the land to be sold for housing in the future. Airport 'needs investment' Hilton said a "robust" covenant would be put in place to prevent the land from being developed on, and this would likely last for 50 said Gloucestershire Airport was more likely to survive as a result of the sale compared to if the councils continued to run it."We know the airport is running at a loss and has been for a number of years," he added."They have not paid the councils a dividend for as long as I can remember. They need substantial investment."Two Community Independent councillors argued the land should be sold to build up to 12,500 Andrew Bell said: "We need houses… this is our perfect chance."However, members voted to go ahead with the sale by 25 votes to two.
BBC News
18-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Preferred buyer found for Gloucestershire Airport £25m sale
A preferred bidder has been found to buy a £25m airport and attract new City and Cheltenham Borough councils jointly own Gloucestershire Airport, which was put up for sale in October last identify of the bidder, who is set to take over the 350-acre site at Staverton, is yet to be City Council leader Jeremy Hilton said the bidder "shares our vision of modernising the airport and bringing real benefits to the area and to local people". The airport is mainly used for private and commercial flights, training and clubs - and brings in more than £50m each year to the local the councils will vote separately on 26 June on whether to approve the preferred bidder and move the proposal City Council said part of the plans include expanding the site's business Borough Council leader Rowena Hay said: "We recognise the significant contribution that the airport makes to the regional economy and now is the right time for a new owner to drive this forward.''Jason Ivey, managing director at Gloucestershire Airport, said: "This not only secures current jobs, but also lays the foundations for new jobs creation and infrastructure development."Part of the sale of the airport, which was built in the 1930s, will be used to pay off any outstanding debts to the two councils from a recent refurbishment of the site.
BBC News
11-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Gloucester City Council job listing criticised as 'manipulative'
The advertisement of a job for someone to "convince the public" of a new council system for Gloucestershire has been criticised as "manipulative".Gloucester City Council (GCC) is hiring a communications officer to help promote the idea of creating a "thriving Greater Gloucester", as three reorganisation options are considered for the county's council Chambers, leader of the Conservative group on GCC, has submitted a formal complaint for the advertisement to be Hilton, Liberal Democrat leader of the council, said the post would help inform residents and involve them in the reorganisation. What are the options? At the moment, Gloucestershire is a two tier authority, meaning council services are split between the county and districts, The Local Democracy Reporting Service option, preferred by Gloucestershire County Council and Tewkesbury Borough Council, is for the whole county to become a single unitary authority with a population of about 650, second option, put forward by five of the county's seven MPs, is to create two unitary councils, broadly divided between east and then there is a third option, being put forward by Mr Hilton, which has been described as the Gloucester involves creating a Greater Gloucester authority comprised of the city and surrounding villages in the "hole" of the doughnut. A second authority would then be created in the outer "ring" of the doughnut. The communications role at Gloucester City Council to promote the third option has a listed salary of between £32,115 and £35, Chambers said of the advertisement: "This isn't communication, it is manipulation."The use of the word 'convince' in the job description says it all. "This role isn't about informing and listening to residents' opinions, it's about spinning a narrative and selling a political agenda using public money."Labour group leader Terry Pullen said he was also astonished by the job listing."The salary for this brand new job will be £35,000 but we do not know how this is going to be paid for, other than coming from council taxpayers' money," he added. 'Gloucester deserves better' Mr Hilton said the role would inform, engage and involve residents in a conversation which would shape Gloucester's future."The Greater Gloucester proposal is one of several options being explored in a county-wide conversation around local government reorganisation."With all the discussions so far about local government reorganisation, not one proposal has involved asking the public what they think. "We believe Gloucester deserves better."The three options have been suggested in response to a call from Local Government Minister Jim McMahon in February 2025 for ideas on how a single tier council structure could be councils involved in local government reorganisation have until November to submit more detailed proposals.
ITV News
02-05-2025
- Politics
- ITV News
Local election 2025: Results across South West including Devon, Cornwall and Gloucestershire
Thousands of voters across the South West have cast their ballots in the latest round of local elections. Voters are electing councillors across council areas including Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Devon and Cornwall. Here are the latest results for the West Country, with updates to follow: Devon The Liberal Democrats narrowly failed to take control of Devon County Council - a council which had been previously Conservative-run. The Lib Dems have however become the largest party on the county council, in what they have described as a "West Country wipe-out". Reform UK has taken seats for the first time on the county council - winning a total of 17. The Liberal Democrats have picked up 27 seats, the Green Party has picked up six, there were six for the Conservative Party and two independents. The Lib Dems previously had just 10 seats on the council, which was controlled by the Conservatives with 40. Gloucestershire Counting is still underway. Voter turnout in the 10 city electoral divisions in Gloucester was low, the figure predicted to be around 31.4%. Liberal Democrat leader of Gloucestershire Council, Jeremy Hilton, said: "The Conservatives in government were a disaster, everyone was right to kick them out last year. "I think the same the County Council, they've been in charge for twenty years. "The roads are falling apart, the services are inadequate and I think people need a change to the way the county council is run. "One hopes the Liberal Democrats will be forming the next administration", he added. Wiltshire Wiltshire has 98 council seats up for grabs, counts are still ongoing. Counting is taking place in three centres: Five Rivers Leisure Centre, Olympiad Leisure Centre and County hall. But this year voter turnout has fallen from the 2021 elections. The last unitary authority elections, which took place when Covid restrictions were still in place had a turnout of 40.53%, that figure has fallen to 36.19% this year. Cornwall Counting is still ongoing. There are three counts taking place across the county including at Bodmin Leisure Centre, Carn Brea Leisure Centre and Truro Cathedral. ITV News West Country spoke to residents in Truro who had just cast their ballot. One man said: "I voted Labour my whole life, but I changed to Conservatives, I think they're all the same." When asked about engagement, one woman said: "The local councillors in our village have been quite upright and have come round knocking on doors and posting leaflets." Another woman added: "You can't complain, if you haven't voted them in, so I always go and vote." Labour's Helen Godwin has been elected as the new Mayor of the West of England. She received 51,197 votes, equivalent of 24.97% of the ballots, beating Reform UK's Arron Banks by around 6,000 votes. The turnout was 205,028, equivalent to 30.02%. The Combined Authority area covers Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, and South Gloucestershire. The mayor has a say over things like transport, housing, employment and skills, and could gain even more authority under the government's plans to devolve power out of Westminster. There were more votes cast in the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) areas outside of Bristol than in it, figures show. Bath and North East Somerset had 42,886 verified ballot papers, while South Gloucestershire had 64,847 – a combined total of 107,733. Bristol had 97,824 verified ballot papers, so 9,909 fewer than the two other areas combined. Across the region, out the 682,951 who were eligible to vote, only 205,557 votes were cast. That's a total turnout of 30%.
