Coventry urban airport, Air-One®, is a world-first demonstration of a fully operational hub for future Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (Evtol) vehicles – including air taxis and delivery drones. The hub, adjacent to the Friargate Business District, showcases the district’s strength as innovative, sustainable, and transport-led.
A short walk from TWO FRIARGATE, the demonstration acted as a blueprint for more than 200 sites planned by Urban-Air Port® worldwide. Covering the next five years, the plan aims to meet the growing demand for advanced, sustainable air mobility.
Residents, businesses, and visitors had the opportunity to experiment with and learn about the benefits of advanced air mobility – including reduced congestion and air pollution, and new options for effective and sustainable public transport networks.
Sustainability is at the heart of the Friargate masterplan. TWO FRIARGATE, currently under construction, is set to become Coventry’s premier office building and a sustainable leader in the region, with an ambition to achieve BREEAM Excellent.
TWO FRIARGATE already encourages sustainability through existing links to Coventry Railway Station and a new bus terminal. This is in addition to the exciting potential to build on Air-One® and future drone transport.
Coventry’s location at the heart of the UK makes it an ideal site for a future transport hub. The city’s historic leadership in automobile and aerospace industries provides an ideal incubator for Air-One®.
Councillor Jim O’Boyle, Cabinet Member for Jobs, Regeneration and Climate Change said,
“TWO FRIARGATE, part of the Friargate Business District, has long had sustainability and world-class connectivity at its heart. Air-One, and the demonstration of future transport technologies in Coventry, is further testament to this unique strength.
“Friargate will cater to the next generation workforce. This includes increasingly innovative and sustainable ways to travel – whether for business or pleasure. We are now looking forward to seeing how this groundbreaking technology develops.”
Air-One® operated in the heart of Coventry for a month, showing how hubs could become new ways to travel into the city. This brings the potential for fast, direct, and zero-emission travel into the heart of Friargate. Additionally, new travel methods connect with the newly opened Coventry Railway Station building.
Robert Courts, UK Government Minister for Aviation, said:
“British innovation has a rich history of transforming global transportation, from the creation of the railroads in the 1800s, to the growth of great British brands such as Jaguar, Triumph and Rover in the 1950s.
“The opening of Air-One®, backed by Government funding, will revolutionise the way people and goods travel across the nation. This step forward puts Britain at the vanguard of clean transport, bringing investment and high-skilled, green job opportunities to the nation, while levelling up opportunity in the Midlands.”
To find out more about TWO FRIARGATE’s new Coventry offices, contact Scott Rutherford of Cushman & Wakefield on 07824 436439 or email scott.rutherford@cushwake.com.
