Central Bedfordshire Council has granted outline planning permission for a new Air Park at Cranfield Airport.
The proposed scheme will help Cranfield University to realise its ambition to develop a state-of-the-art airport for private jets and to maintain the airport for its research objectives. It could create more than 600 new jobs.
The proposals comprise new aircraft hangars and an associated business terminal, new office space, a hotel and upgrade works within the airport.
The Air Park will be developed over two separate phases, with completion targeted for 2024.
Cranfield University’s director of aviation operations Rob Abbott said: “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.”
Central Bedfordshire Council’s director of regeneration Jason Longhurst, said: “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.”
