Blackpool Council buys back airport site

Blackpool Council has purchased all shares in Regional and City Airports (Blackpool) Holdings for £4.25m, taking full ownership of the airport site.

The council was previously a 5 per cent shareholder in the airport. Balfour Beatty had owned the majority and was believed to be considering bids from residential developers.

“This move will protect the airport as a company, including the 30 jobs that are currently employed there. It will also allow us to ensure that the airport itself can continue to operate as an important hub that can benefit the whole region.

“We do not envisage the return of large scale passenger planes to the airport. The purpose of this acquisition is to safeguard the helicopter and other commercial airside activities that take place, build upon them and deliver our overall objective of creating up to 5,000 jobs on the Enterprise Zone site."

"We have the airport’s best interests at heart, we will retain the current operating staff as well as exploring any potential opportunities for private companies with aviation interests to invest in the company so that it can grow in the future but this is not about trying to bring jumbo jets back to the airport anytime soon," added Simon Blackburn.