15 May 2019
The owner of Cambridge Airport, Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group, has announced that the Airport is to close by 2030.
Marshall will move most of its operations to another airfield and has identified three possible sites: Cranfield, Duxford and Wyton.
The Airport site on Newmarket Road on the east side of Cambridge will be developed with 12,000 houses and businesses. The announcement has been welcomed by the local council.
Chief Executive of Marshall, Alistair McPhee, said, “It has become increasingly clear that a move to new, purpose-built facilities will afford us a fantastic opportunity to fulfil our true potential as a business.
“It is still very early days but we know that finding the right airfield location that will give us the necessary space and flexibility to support our planned growth, which is close enough to Cambridge to enable us to retain and attract talent, will be a complex and time-consuming task.
“At this stage, we have a number of potential locations in mind but are still some way away from making any definitive decisions. Cranfield, Duxford and Wyton are currently our preferred options and we will work with all three locations over the coming months to further assess their feasibility.
“However, the Cambridge site will continue to be our home for many years to come, and in parallel with planning for our long-term future, we remain committed to our investment plans for the site that will see us spend more than £30m over the next five years to upgrade existing infrastructure.”
Marshall intends to put the Cambridge Airport site forward for development as part of the next Local Plan from 2030.
