East Midlands Airport completes new hanger and hotel

The two schemes by Manchester Airports Group (MAG) Developments represent a capital expenditure of £25m and have achieved among the highest-ever environmental ratings in the UK, within each development’s respective building category.

The new 26,000-sqft-hangar facility (above)  – purpose-built for RVL Group Reconnaissance Ventures Ltd (RVL) Group – took just 23 weeks to construct and was completed with an EPC ‘A’ rating, on the A+-to-G scale of the Energy Performance Certificate Ratings system, which records how energy efficient a building is and measure its environmental impact.

The new full-service, five-storey hotel (above) – now open and trading as the Radisson Blu East Midlands Airport – achieved the highest ever BREEAM rating for a commercial hotel in the UK, scoring 76.17% – well above the 70% ‘Excellent’ threshold on the BREEAM scale, which is used to assess the environmental credentials of new buildings. It also attained an ‘A’ rating on the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) A+-to-G scale.

David Roberts, Property Development Director, MAG Developments, said: “These two major projects represent a substantial level of investment in East Midlands Airport, underlining our commitment to sustainable development and our ability to deliver high-quality new developments both on budget and on time. Buoyed by these two projects and role of the airport in the region, there have been an encouraging number of enquires with regard to further bespoke development opportunities and we hope to announce further progress within the next 12 months.”

The projects are estimated to have brought around 180 new jobs to the airport – along with the creation of around 250 jobs during the construction stage of both projects.

Brad Miller, Managing Director of East Midlands Airport, said: “Despite the current economic climate, we remain committed to investing in the development of the airport for the benefit of our passengers and local businesses. Creating a vibrant hub and an environment, in which businesses can flourish by taking advantage of the connectivity offered by the airport, is a key focus for us.”

Derbyshire-based construction group, Bowmer and Kirkland, was the main contractor on both projects, Construction Director, Paul Lomas, said: “We have a long established relationship with MAG Developments and East Midlands Airport and we are delighted that through this partnership we have been able to deliver two further successful projects. With over one thousand bedrooms currently under construction across the country, we remain one of the UK’s largest providers of hotel and student accommodation.”

Part of the Manchester Airports Group, MAG Developments is responsible for the management and development of all the commercial property and land at East Midlands, Humberside, Manchester and Bournemouth airports. Its £335m property portfolio serves more than 850 businesses, comprising over 200 properties across 5,000 acres. Other MAG Developments projects at East Midlands Airport include the construction of an 80-bedroom budget hotel for Premier Inn and a bespoke hub facility for Royal Mail.