Works starts at £2.5bn Coventry green industry hub
Coventry City Council and Rigby Group have broken ground on GreenPower Park, set to turn the former Coventry Airport into a 5.7m sq ft clean energy manufacturing powerhouse.
Outline planning permission was originally granted for the site in 2022 as airport operations wound down at the former regional airport, around three miles south-east of the city centre.
Now, work has started on a new substation and infrastructure required to connect the site to the National Grid, funded by a £23m grant from West Midlands Combined Authority.
The masterplan for the 308-acre site will see it turned into a green energy powered industrial hub, intended to become a centre of excellence for battery technology, advanced manufacturing and clean energy innovation.
Mike Murray, project director at GreenPower Park, said: “Following the closure of the airport in June we are now moving at pace to get the site ready for occupation.
“Planning permissions are secured and we are poised to plug in to the National Grid. This will allow us to potentially deliver a new manufacturing facility within 18 months of an occupier signing. In addition, we have put together a package of financial incentives – with support from WMCA and government – to help attract investors and ensure it’s a smooth and simple process from first meeting to occupation.”
The scheme was given a further boost earlier this year, when detailed permission for seven units totalling 4.8m sq ft were given the go-ahead by Warwick District Council, part of plans which could eventually create up to 6,000 jobs in the city.
Demolition work on former airport buildings will get under way shortly, with the site expected to be cleared by autumn 2027.
Cllr Lynnette Kelly, deputy leader and cabinet member for jobs, regeneration and climate change at Coventry City Council, added: “There is no doubt that the future is battery driven so to see work start on site is really encouraging. We are the only location in the UK that is ready to go right now, with planning permission in place, a package of investor support and the all important grid connection.
“The UK needs to compete on a world stage or risk being left behind – and this site enables us to do just that. Of course Coventry, the wider region and the UK as a whole, needs good quality jobs – jobs that will build on our rich manufacturing heritage as we lead the green industrial revolution. And really that’s what this site is all about.”
