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Cotswold Airport could be shut for housing

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The former RAF site at Kemble was home to the Red Arrows for 16 years

Cotswold Airport could be shut to make way for up to 2,000 houses.

A proposal has been put forward for a "sustainable village" with shops and leisure facilities to be built on the 420-acre ex-RAF base, near Cirencester.

The airport's directors, with developer Commercial Estates Group, have offered the idea to Cotswold District Council for planners to consider.

The site once housed the Red Arrows and dates back to the 1930s when it was created for training and maintenance.

Matthew Tunley, from the developer, said: "If the site was to be developed for housing, it is likely the airport would close. But in terms of timescales we're obviously at an early stage in the planning process and would need to understand what those implications were."

The proposals for the airport site - on the Gloucestershire-Wiltshire border - are expected to lead to further consultation later this year.

"Cotswold Airport is a huge site of circa 420 acres and this is now an opportunity to explore a thoroughly mixed-use development including retained and enhanced employment, housing, leisure and community facilities," said an airport spokesperson.