Primarily for general aviation discussion, but other aviation topics are also welcome.
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By James Chan
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1846495
But that could be self-defeatist. Keep doing that and there will nowhere else to move to.

Coventry Airport has been identified as the preferred site ... by the West Midlands Combined Authority, Coventry City Council, Warwick District Council, Warwickshire County Council, and Coventry and Warwickshire LEP


What have these councils actually done with studying how the proposed changes to the airport affects the wider (GA) air transport network and supporting businesses? Have they intentionally turned a blind-eye just to see how many in aviation shouts the loudest?
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By Yakovlevs
#1846674
From coventry.gov.uk

A Gigafactory at Coventry Airport is predicted to generate at least 4,500 jobs directly, as well as tens of thousands more across the supply chain, and represent an investment of up to £2bn in the West Midlands.


Colour me sceptical, but how will an automated factory generate 4,500 jobs 'directly'?
terrybarr liked this
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By Rob P
#1846675
I think they are talking of the construction of the site.

Rob P
By johnm
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1846694
Rob P wrote:I think they are talking of the construction of the site.

Rob P


That was my conclusion and just strengthens the case for it being a bad idea....
JAFO liked this
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By Rob P
#1846696
I am not sure how creating 4,500 medium term jobs as we come out of the current situation can ever be deemed a bad idea.

Rob P
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By Peter Gristwood
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1846701
Problem is that airfields do have the basic infrastructure that a greenfield site doesn't, adding to the costs and complexity.

The loss of a key part of the transport infrastructure of the UK figures nowhere in any of the calculations
By johnm
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1846762
Rob P wrote:I am not sure how creating 4,500 medium term jobs as we come out of the current situation can ever be deemed a bad idea.

Rob P


Construction is short of labour at the moment but it needs to be skilled and trained and in it for a career so the issue is irrelevant as it will have no long term local economic benefit and nor will the gigafactory...so consuming valuable infrastructure is insane, it needs to be somewhere it can be of immediate value and get recycled when it becomes redundant. The ideal site would be a disused power station, steel works or coal mine in the North of England or South Wales....
JAFO liked this
By WingsOff
#1846986
Well that's two of the biggies closing for sure - i.e. Cambridge and Coventry, plus the never-ending threats to many of the smaller GA sites (Wellesbourne etc.). It is super critical now for planning legislation to be constantly reviewed and tweaked to enable pre-existing GA airfields to develop unhindered by nimbyism backed by the Government's stated strategic objective to 'Make the UK the best place for General Aviation in the world'. The larger ones have permitted development rights (but only for 'operational' buildings for aviation purposes), the smaller ones do not, they have to beg and crawl through hoops to get things through planning and often fail over and over again (i.e. Blackbushe). These airfields need to have a mix of both aviation-related development and non-aviation too such that the non-aviation property helps underwrite the costs of running the airfield, as an airfield - the landing fees and fuel sale profits aren't enough for most.
Rob P, AshleyFlynn23 liked this
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By Earl Grey
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1847010
If this really has to happen then a condition of the approval should be a binding legal agreement to provide investment to safeguard and enhance Wellesbourne. This might be in conjunction with the current owners or through Stratford District Council via the CPO that is still rumbling in the background. In the context of the investment for the Gigafactory this would be background noise. Stratford and Warwick District Councils are now working jointly on a Local Plan for South Warwickshire which covers Coventry Airport and Wellesbourne so an ideal opportunity for some joined up thinking.....

EG
johnm, Nick liked this
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