Plans have been unveiled to create up to 1,900 jobs by extending Bournemouth Airport’s business park.
Rigby Real Estate has submitted three planning applications for land at the Aviation Business Park across the airport’s northern sector.
If approved, the plans will deliver more than a million square feet of new commercial floor space over approximately 75 acres of land.
As well as creating up to 1,900 full-time jobs, the proposed development will generate about £93 million annually for the Dorset economy.
PLANS – Mike Murray, Rigby Real Estate’s Commercial Real Estate Director pictured on the Aviation Business Park, Bournemouth Airport.
Mike Murray, Rigby Real Estate’s Commercial Real Estate Director, said: “We’re very excited at these plans which are part of our strategy to create a world-class business park at Bournemouth Airport.
“The aim is to unlock high quality employment land and facilitate associated infrastructure while providing a major boost for the local economy. Our objective is to appeal to leading national and international manufacturing, logistics and aerospace businesses with a range of high-quality, class-leading units.”
The three planning applications submitted to the newly formed Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council (BCP) are:
- An outline planning application for employment development in a broad area of land across the northern fringe of the airport. It includes an estate road as the primary means of vehicular access.
- Full planning application for road improvements and other infrastructure including the access arrangement proposed in the outline application. The road link is considered essential to opening up the site and linking the west and east sides of the business park, currently separated by airside users. It will be implemented quickly as an early phase of the proposed development.
- A full planning application for an employment unit, allowing for the relocation of a long-standing manufacturing company to the site. This will allow for the retention and expansion of the company’s highly skilled operation while also enabling the release of its former site for alternative residential development.
Aviation Business Park, which covers 200 acres, is already home to more than 200 businesses and is one of the largest employment sites in Dorset.
It has a strong reputation as a key specialist aerospace and manufacturing hub for companies looking for bespoke and high specification facilities.
Rigby Real Estate acquired the Aviation Business Park in 2017 when Rigby Group’s airport management division Regional & City Airports (RCA) added Bournemouth Airport to its extensive group of regional UK airports for an undisclosed sum.
Notes to journalists:
Airports
Regional & City Airports (RCA) is the UK’s leading regional airport operator, led by a team with proven commercial and operational expertise in both the airport and airline sectors. RCA owns Bournemouth Airport, Coventry Airport, Exeter Airport and Norwich Airport, and operates Blackpool Airport, City of Derry Airport and Solent Airport Daedalus on behalf of their owners. RCA also operates XLR Executive Jet Centres (XLR), the renowned boutique FBO business. XLR has centres at Birmingham, Exeter and Liverpool airports.
Regional airports are vitally important to the economic development of regions in which they are located. RCA’s vision is to help regional airports to prosper through effective management and collaboration, enabling them to benefit from the economies of scale and sharing of best practice traditionally enjoyed by much larger airports.
Real Estate
Rigby Real Estate owns a diverse real estate portfolio with freehold properties, large scale commercial projects and bespoke residential developments. The Group has an active acquisition programme in place to continue the growth of the division across commercial land and residential property in London’s super-prime market.
Allect International Design Group, owns Rigby & Rigby, Helen Green Design and Lawson Robb, collectively London’s largest interior design practice. Allect operates design and construction projects in London and design projects globally with activity in Asia, Europe and Australasia. In 2017 Rigby & Rigby was proud to be awarded International Design Practice of the Year.
The Rigby Real Estates commercial business operates with large scale developments surrounding the group’s Airport assets. In Bournemouth, RRE operates a £75m property portfolio; in Coventry, RRE has major developments for 3.7m sq. ft.; in Norwich, RRE plans for a 1million sq. ft. development and, in Exeter, RRE is exploring a number of development opportunities.
