Unclear whether Gloucestershire Airport sale will go through
Cheltenham and Gloucester council leaders have been negotiating with Horizon Group about the sale
Last updated 3rd Mar 2026
Council chiefs cannot say if they are optimistic or not that the sale of Gloucestershire Airport will go through amid a feeling of being “pretty let down” by time extensions to conclude the deal.
Cheltenham Borough Council and Gloucester City Council chiefs have been in negotiations with Horizon Group, the preferred buyer of the Staverton Airport, for more than eight months.
And they are frustrated over delays to the sale of the 375-acre site, which includes two thriving business parks and planning consent for an additional 30,000 square metres of business space.
The completion of the sale, which has been agreed to be for more than the £25m asking price, has faced delays, missed deadlines and speculation the deal may be in trouble continues to grow.
And a number of options will be considered if the sale is not completed, the overview and scrutiny committee at Gloucester City Council heard last night (March 2).
Head of place Andy Hearne gave councillors an update and said officers have been trying to bring the sale to a conclusion but he could not say whether or not he is confident the deal will go through.
He said they are working hard behind the scenes and a significant amount of time has been spent on the sale.
But there is only so much they can do as they are not the buyers.
“Right now it is a bit of a waiting game on our part,” he said.
Councillor Terry Pullen (L, Moreland) asked when they could expect a conclusion to be reached.
Mr Hearne said there was frustration and they all want to bring it to a conclusion as soon as possible.
“I can’t give you a dedicated timeline, but what I can say is we are working as hard as we can to bring one,” he said.
Councillor Louise Walker (C, Abbeydale) asked how Mr Hearne felt about the sale being completed.
She said: “Although things aren’t proceeding at the pace we would all like to see, do you simply feel generally optimistic that the sale will go through?”
Mr Hearne said it was very difficult for him to say at this stage.
“Any sale process has got its risks,” he said. “If you ask me if I’m confident, again it is very difficult for me to say.
“The time lag, the extensions, etc… Obviously we are all feeling pretty let down by the extensions that have taken place. So I can’t sit here and tell you one way or the other.
“The officers are doing as much as they can to try and bring it to a conclusion. But it’s not within my gift right now to say one way or the other. We just need to keep doing as much as we can to try and support.”
Councillor Sajid Patel (C, Barton and Tredworth) asked if they could elaborate on what had caused the delays.
“We should have been done and dusted by now,” he said.
He said it did not sound reassuring that the sale would go through.
“If that asset does go for housing development, it would be better if it didn’ t go to a private company to make vast sums of profit and it was sold by the council so we make the profit and we get the money for our residents and taxpayers.
“That land is a valuable asset worth millions and millions if it was for residential development.”
And Councillor Anne Radley (LD, Elmbridge) asked if council chiefs had a plan B if the sale did not go through.
Council leader Jeremy Hilton (LD, Kingsholm and Wotton) said it was normal practice for councils to look at “possible plan Bs”.
“Do I know what those possible plan Bs might be, no. Because the sale is still progressing and we are still in discussions with the potential buyer.”
He said “a lot of the speculation in the press” was “not at all accurate” but did not specify what was incorrect.
Cllr Hilton said there are options available for a plan B and officers know what they could be but “nothing has been worked out because we are still in the situation of trying to conclude the sale”.
Mr Hearne said he recognised the frustration in the room and said any sale was “very difficult”.
“The team we are working with are consistently devoted to making sure that all decisions are completely scrutinised to make sure the decisions made are right for the are, the public.”
Chairman Andrew Gravells (C, Abbeydale) asked if there was a specific plan B or a series of options.
Cllr Hilton replied saying there would be options.
“If the sale doesn’t conclude there will be a number of options that will have to be interrogated and considered in detail,” he said.
“The officers might well have been looking at what those scenarios could be but absolutely nothing has been discussed with me in any detail.
“There is definitely not a definitive plan B.”
Cllr Gravels replied: “In effect, it would be back to the drawing board with all options considered.”