Norfolk: RAF Coltishall Bought By Norfolk County Council

11 January 2013, 09:08 | Updated: 11 January 2013, 11:01

Norfolk County Council have confirmed they have bought former airbase RAF Coltishall for £4 million

The 600 acre base was closed in 2006 and since then it's been empty.

Negotiations have been going on for years about the future of the site and what it could be used for.

Since being closed off part of the site has become Bure Prison and the old married housing has been renovated and put back on the market again, but the remainder of the base has been locked up and left unused.

In the last few years there have been several plans to purchase the base, but they have all fallen through. 

In May Norfolk County Council told Heart they were close to securing a deal.

The plan is for the council to purchase the site and get it set up for several different uses.

  • The aircraft hangars and engineering buildings could be fitted out for business and engineering companies to use that could create new jobs.
  • New housing could be put into some of the old accommodation blocks
  • Facilities on the base like the gym have potential to be redeveloped for the public to use again
  • The remaining airfield could be turned back into farmland again like it was before World War Two
  • Key historical buildings would be reopened for the public to be able to see