Newquay Airport gets classic aircraft museum

A Gloster Meteor is among the aeroplanes moving to Newquay

A museum of historic aircraft is moving from Coventry to Newquay Airport in Cornwall.

The Classic Aircraft Trust wants to create a new visitor attraction of more than 30 vintage aeroplanes.

It said about 33 jobs would be created on the Aerohub Enterprise Zone, announced by the government in 2011.

The enterprise zone is aimed at attracting more aerospace businesses to Newquay with tax breaks and relaxed planning regulations.

The planes being moved to Newquay include a Gloster Meteor, De Havilland's Vampire and Venom, light transport plane the Percival Pembroke and a Nimrod.

The Classic Aircraft Trust said it had outgrown its existing premises at Coventry Airport.

Work will start on the museum in the next few weeks.

The Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), which replaced the South West Regional Development Agency in March, said it hoped the museum would the "first of many" new organisations at the enterprise zone.

LEP chairman Chris Pomfret said: "This is evidence of how appealing the enterprise zone is to aviation companies because we have the right business environment and some of the best infrastructure in Europe."

Chairman of the Classic Aircraft Trust, Tim Skeet, said: "We are really excited to come to Newquay and help get the Aerohub off to a flying start."

Al Titterington, managing director of Newquay Cornwall Airport said the museum would become "an important attraction for the Cornish tourism economy".

As well as the collection of vintage aeroplanes, the Classic Air Force centre will have pleasure flights in a vintage DeHavilland Dragon Rapide biplane.