By Carmelo Garcia – Local Democracy Reporter
The planned sale of Gloucestershire Airport and other major projects such as the Greyfriars regeneration will continue despite the ousting of Gloucester City Council’s leader.
Liberal Democrat Jeremy Hilton (Kingsholm and Wotton) lost a vote of no-confidence during the meeting on September 24 by 21 votes to 18.
Conservative and Labour councillors backed the proposal by Community Independent Alastair Chambers (Matson, Robinswood and White City) while the Lib Dems and an Independent Tory opposed the move.
However, despite winning the vote, the opposition groups did not nominate anyone to take on the role and the council is now leaderless.
The council continued with its meeting without leaders as the cabinet resigned and councillors agreed to allow officers to complete the sale should a new preferred bidder be chosen.
The 375-acre airport in Staverton is jointly owned by the city council and Cheltenham Borough Council.
However, it has been costing the taxpayer millions in recent years and both authorities aim to sell the site in a way which will secure its aviation future.
During the debate, Councillor Hilton said the agreements to sell the airport must be done with their partners in the spa town.
“The bids close on September 30 and it is expected they will be for operating the airport,” he said.
“There is a requirement for them to be operated for at least five years and then there is a load of overage chargers that will be implemented if there is any other use for the site.”
Conservative Andy Lewis said the council “can’t live in fantasy land anymore” regarding the airport.
“We’ve just got to get rid,” he said.
And Labour group leader Terry Pullen (Moreland) said the sale of the airport is needed to recoup funds to pay off their council’s multi-million pound debts.
“This council has been discussing the airport for years and years and years,” he said. “And look where it has got them. Nowhere.
“More uncertainty, more loss, more debt. Can we just get real. This airport needs to be sold.”
The proposal was approved. After the meeting, the City Council issued a statement after the meeting to “reassure residents and the wider community that it remains business as usual”.
“Despite the temporary absence of a leader and cabinet, our officers remain fully focused on delivering services across the city, managing our major projects, strengthening the council’s financial position and achieving all our other agreed priorities,” they said.
“Senior officers will be working with political group leaders on the way forward. In the meantime, the temporary political situation does not affect the delivery of the services that residents and businesses rely on.”
The council said the possibility they may need further emergency funding from the Government was “not a new development, or unexpected”.
“When we applied for £15.5 million of support for 2026/27, we made clear to the Government that further support might be needed in 2027/28 while the transformation and improvement programme we are driving has time to deliver its full financial benefits. It is still too early to determine precisely what level of further support will be needed.
“Meanwhile, we continue to focus fully on strengthening the council’s overall financial position and delivering the significant improvements recognised in this summer’s independent Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy Assurance Report, commissioned by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.”