Providing the very best learning environment for personnel, visually, careful consideration will be given to the appearance of the Technical Academy by creating distinctive buildings and landscaping to provide a development with character.

The Technical Academy will be centred around the former DARA Hangar, ensuring that this recently built facility continues to be used appropriately.

Students who attend the academy will be young professionals committed to developing skills in a number of specialist disciplines. Accordingly, they would be based at St Athan over a long-term period during which many will come to regard St Athan as their home.

South Wales already has an established expertise in the aerospace industry through current businesses such as British Airways Maintenance Cardiff, and GE Aircraft Engine. Accordingly, the Aerospace Business Park would build on this skills base. The Welsh Assembly Government’s plan for the business park is to offer the facilities and infrastructure needed by manufacturers, suppliers, service providers and trainers to the aviation sector with a particular focus on maintenance, repair and overhaul.

These facilities would be located to the west of the cross runway on the north side of the main runway, and to the south of the main runway. Businesses involved in both civilian and military work will be located in large hangar facilities comprising a mix of new buildings and redeveloped existing hangars.

Design would be of a high standard and in keeping with the surroundings. In accordance with the Code for Sustainable Homes, the UK Government’s strategy aimed at encouraging a new national standard for the sustainable design and construction of new homes – Metrix will incorporate the following measures where possible:

Proposed facilities will include sports pitches, tennis courts, a running track, crèche, military museum, interdenominational church and a swimming pool. A number of these facilities will be available for the public to use at certain times.

To help meet energy needs in a sustainable manner, the proposed development will include an Energy Centre incorporating a bio-mass generator that would be fuelled in part by wood chips, reducing carbon emissions for the Technical Academy by between 30 and 60 per cent per annum. In addition to this, a series of environmental policies will be adopted, including one of the most comprehensive recycling and composting schemes of any modern development. On site water retention will be introduced to control surface run-off and a waste minimisation strategy will see rubble from the demolition phase being re-used as building materials and in the landscaping of the site.

To protect and encourage wildlife, a comprehensive series of measures will be implemented to ensure that any negative effects are minimised and new habitats are provided of the highest standards. A series of new ponds have already been created providing a haven for wildlife and an ideal habitat for the existing population of great crested newts.

In delivering the proposed redevelopment of St Athan, a comprehensive transport assessment will ensure consideration has been given to how the development will impact on the existing local highways and transport network.

Improvement works including new accesses and enhancements to Eglwys Brewis Road, St Athan Junction, the B4265 road at Gileston/Old Mill and Waycock Cross roundabout will help ensure the road network is able to cope with any increase in traffic at peak times. Planning applications will also include proposals for routing and mitigation measures for construction traffic generated by the development proposals.

A Green Travel Plan outlining measures to encourage people arriving and departing from the site to use public transport or car share will be introduced. It is anticipated that the majority of personnel on-site will walk between buildings and facilities. Vehicles will mainly be confined to the perimeter of the site where car parks will be located, so pedestrians and cyclists will be able to access the core areas and “green spine” in safety.

The main access to the Defence Technical Academy and the Aerospace Business Park will be via a new access road and junction built from the B4265. This would ensure that traffic to and from the site is provided with direct and separate access onto the main road.

The access road will also improve access to St Athan from the M4 Motorway. As is required with all military sites, an emergency exit will remain on the eastern side of the site where an existing access to the East Camp already exists.

In addition, we will be completing further studies on the site to establish whether there are any further areas of archaeological interest, and in particular will be looking at the military buildings and historic airfield defences as part of this.

If the planning application is approved, and following financial close, construction work could start in early 2010 with completion of the Technical Academy by 2014.