Former Gloucestershire aerodrome redevelopment finally under way

By Nicky Godding

7 May 2021

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Work to prepare a long-vacant site, once home to the Brockworth Aerodrome and Gloucestershire Aircraft Company, for new homes is underway.

Around 30 years since outline permission to redevelop the site was first granted to another developer, Bluebell Homes, part of the Edenstone Group, has been given full planning consent to build 166 new homes off Whittle Square, Brockworth, on the edge of Gloucester.

Gloucestershire Aircraft Company, established in 1917, built up to 45 Bristol Fighters per week during the First World War and went on to produce aircraft such as the Meteor and the Javelin. The company which by this time had changed its name a number of times, closed in 1964,

Along with new homes, the scheme will lead to around £2 million being invested in the local area. It will also see the creation of green open spaces and community facilities including bike hire, outdoor gym equipment, play areas and electric car charging points.

Work on the development, known as Trinity Quarter is now underway. The first properties to be delivered will be affordable housing available via Gloucester City Homes, with Bluebell Homes set to release private sale homes in the autumn.

Edenstone Group operations director Chris Edge said: “Originally part of the Brockworth Aerodrome, Trinity Quarter has the promise of being a great new community, bringing a long-term vacant site back into good use, providing new homes alongside community facilities and investment in the wider neighbourhood.

“It will be the second Gloucestershire development to feature designs from our Bluebell Homes brand. The scheme will be integral to delivering Tewkesbury Borough Council’s housing requirement and will provide a well-designed residential development at the heart of Brockworth.

“Trinity Quarter will cater for all market segments including providing affordable housing and private sale homes for first time buyers, families and downsizers. In line with local need we’re starting to build the affordable homes first, with 81 properties due to be handed over to Registered Social Landlord Gloucester City Homes.”

The 3.44 hectare site forms part of an allocation in the Tewkesbury Borough Local Plan to 2011, which provides for a mixed-use district centre incorporating a foodstore, a number of shop units, leisure uses, community uses, a hotel, and business and residential use, much of which has now been built.

There will also be three commercial units within the development, plus open space for residents to enjoy.

Along with building new homes and providing community facilities, the Edenstone Group will invest in the wider neighbourhood, with more than £345,000 for education and libraries.

Potential purchasers can register their interest in the development via https://www.bluebellhomes.co.uk/brockworth.

By Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe.

After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts.

She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.