New Norwich Airport?
Since the last article in the EDP well before Xmas the Coltishall issue has been quite quiet. However, whilst there seems to be the idea of Norwich airport moving to Coltishall I would suggest it is very unlikely even though the last post gives many reasons for it. Thankfully however, it would seem that the locals can rest in peace at the thought the backroads being used by increasing nos of dark green landrovers and other Army vehicles not to mention any helos - the Jags as welcome as they are may be noisy but they tend to depart the area much quicker and don't hover around doing any training.
If and when (!) the Northern Bypass happens it will likely be just as close to the existing airport as it would Coltishall if not closer. The roads around Coltishall are extremely poor with just one real route out of the City and the nearest railway stop (Worsted) is hardly likely to see Gatwick Express type development or shuttle bus service given its current useage. Whilst Coltishall does have a slight advantage in runway (+1500ft) the infrastructure to support passengers is none existant whereas the new albeit small terminal at Norwich wins much support from all that use it and an extension would cost a fraction of a new build when considering the rest of the estate improvements that would be required if a part of Coltishall was developed for an airport. This would still leave much of the existing Coltishall camp for disposal/redevelopment and all of the domestic accommodation. Despite govt plans to build on greenfield areas I do not believe that the local councils would be quite so keen - refer back to local infrastructure/highways above - they would have to spend a fortune if they were to grant any form of planning permission at all, even for any form of industrial use.
The future of Coltishall is going to be a very interesting topic for some time.