"Coventry Airport gigafactory plans to be developed after council approval"

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Coventry Airport to close in 2026 for gigafactory



Coventry Airport is due to close next year, its operators have confirmed, for the development of a multimillion-pound advanced manufacturing site.

The Rigby Group said the ceasing of runway operations at the Baginton site would enable the next phase of building work to begin for Greenpower Park, the location of a proposed battery gigafactory.

The BBC has seen a letter sent to some tenants, telling them they have to leave by 9 May, with the closure set for 11 June 2026.

Greenpower Park is a joint venture between Coventry City Council and Coventry Airport and received a £23m funding boost from the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) in January.

A spokesperson from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said: "Coventry Aerodrome has given formal notice to us of its plan to close the airport permanently with effect from 11 June 2026."

Speaking about the airport's notice to the CAA, the Rigby Group statement said: "This procedural submission, first envisaged when local planning approval for Green Power Park was granted in 2022, enables the next phase of infrastructure work for the site to proceed."

It said the WMCA funding supported the first phase of development, which will focus on installing a 30 MVA power supply to service future occupiers.

It added runway operations would be phased out in line with the "approved infrastructure delivery schedule", and airspace surrounding the airport removed.

Warwick District Council said the land in the airport which lies in the Warwick district boundary was included in the planning permission for the gigafactory.

A statement said: "For this three reserved matters applications have been submitted, two of which are to be presented to the council's planning committee next week for determination. The third will be considered early in the new year."

Jim O'Boyle, the councillor responsible for jobs and regeneration at Coventry City Council, said: "What we want to see are thousands of jobs created on here, giving the area an economic lift."

He said there was a huge space at the airport, which was "not being properly utilised" and there was now an opportunity to benefit the wider area.

The Air Ambulance Service is among organisations currently operating out of the airport.

The service said the situation was "temporary" and plans were underway for it to construct a new airbase.

Flight schools, Coventry Aeroplane Club and Nimrod Preservation group would also be impacted - as well as the Midlands Air Museum.

Barry James, chairman and curator of the museum, said the closure did not affect it since it had "a very long lease".

He added, however: "It is a loss to the region but I know the loss of jobs at the airport has been an issue for a number of years."

Steve Clark from AeroTech, an aircraft maintenance company based at the airport, said the announcement was not a big shock and had "been on the cards for quite some time".

He said he believed property developers were looking at a number of airport sites.

But he said he was disappointed all the same and the company had been looking for a new location.

Passenger flights from the site ceased in 2008, but it continued to be used for business and freight flights.

[rebbonk]

O'Boyle, the councillor responsible for jobs and regeneration at Coventry City Council, said: "What we want to see are thousands of jobs created on here, giving the area an economic lift."

It won't happen!

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Future of Nimrod aircraft uncertain, says society



An RAF vintage aircraft preservation group said it was looking for another airfield for its Nimrod plane after Coventry Airport announced its closure.

The Nimrod XV232 is a preserved maritime patrol plane which was used during the Falklands War and has been based at the airport, in Baginton, since May 2010.

Operators of Coventry Airport have submitted a formal notice to close it permanently from 11 June 2026, the UK Civil Aviation Authority has confirmed.

Kevin Connor, from the Nimrod Preservation Group, said it if could not find another airfield, the aircraft may have to be taken apart and disposed of.

Mr Connor, one of the directors of the group, said he had served in the RAF for 12 years before joining the Army - serving a total of 48 years.

He told the BBC he had a personal connection to the Nimrod as the plane had arrived at his first posting station at RAF St Mawgan, Cornwall, in 1969.

Mr Connor said: "The news of the closure has been in the pipeline for a number of years now.

"We were warned, but it's been dragging on for the last at least three or four years [and] it became one of those things that felt a bit unrealistic."

Operators The Rigby Group said the stopping of runway operations at Coventry Airport would enable the next phase of building work to begin for Greenpower Park - the location of a proposed battery gigafactory.

Mr Connor said: "I felt very disappointed when I heard the news. We feel that the fact that there are small airfields like Coventry closing down is limiting places where flying schools could be."

Coventry Aeroplane Club and the Midlands Air Museum will be among the aviation groups impacted by the closure.

Mr Connor said: "We've got three options, they're all open. One is to find another airfield , take [the Nimrod] apart and move it by road to wherever it goes.

"Two is for the civil aviation authority to give us a one-flight move to another airfield.

"And if both of those options fail, [the third] would be to cut it up and get rid of it."

The group said it was hoping to receive an extension on the deadline to move the airliner.

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Councillor blasts 'slim possibility' of gigafactory as Coventry Airport set to close



A local councillor has claimed there is only a "very slim possibility" of Coventry airport being turned into a gigafactory during the recent planning meeting which saw the district council grant permission for the scheme. The application was granted by Warwick District Council on Tuesday (9 December).

The motion, carried in line with a senior planning officer's recommendations, comes less than a week after it was confirmed the historic site, which has been used as an aerodrome for almost 90 years, would cease operations from next year.

But Cllr Pam Redford, who spoke at the meeting, urged the district council to reconsider before the motion was passed.

She claimed there was only a 'very slim possibility' of there ever being a gigafactory on the site as an end user has still not been identified.

"Consent was given to this site over three years ago for a gigafactory on green belt land," Cllr Redford said. "This was given under very special circumstances.

"In this application you’re being asked to give consent to reserved matters, site-wide, enabling works for the proposed gigafactory. However, in more than three years, there have been no serious offers from any end user, and there is still no confirmation of serious interest.

"This site will remain green belt if no confirmation of an end user comes forward to progress the build, and at this time nothing other than a gigafactory can be built on it without fitting the criteria for very special circumstances.

"So in effect, you are being asked to make a decision on what is now a very slim possibility of a gigafactory coming forward. This current application is no more than an attempt to keep the outline plan alive."

She went on to urge the district council to defer their decision until a definite end user was found.

Cllr John Payne stood to respond to this comment, saying the fact there is not a current end user is not a big problem.

"A lot of councillor colleagues have mentioned over and over again the point about there not being a final investor," he said "I personally find it very hard to see why that is harmful or unreasonable - it seems to me we simply have a planning application with a delay attached to it, it doesn't mean anything other than that."

He went on to urge the committee to pass the motion otherwise vital funding for the area could be lost and local residents could end up with a worse planning motion further down the line.

https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/councillor-blasts-slim-possibility-gigafactory-33034422