Drone project launched at business park near Aylesbury as £2.6m investment is announced

Skyports, has announced it will be moving its headquarters to Westcott Venture Park.

Skyports is making the hub at Westcott its global command and control centre for delivery, survey and surveillance drone missions.

In addition, the company will develop the site as a centre of excellence for its pilots.

A spokesman for Westcott said: "Skyports is a pioneering drone services provider.

"Skyports operates drone services for various industries and use cases, including ship-to-shore deliveries, BVLOS drone surveying and surveillance, and medical drone logistics.”

The deal to bring Skyports to the venture park has been agreed in partnership with Satellite Applications Catapult.

Buckinghamshire Local Enterprise Partnership (Bucks LEP) revealed that the deal was assisted by its new Getting Building Fund.

In total, Bucks LEP is investing £2.6 million into the innovation ecosystem at Westcott.

Martin Smye-Rumsby, Westcott area manager at Satellite Applications Catapult, said: “I am delighted that Skyports have chosen Westcott to grow their pioneering drone services.

"Westcott has a distinguished history of testing and development, so it is fitting that the Westcott Innovation Centre is where Skyports will continue to develop their pioneering operations. By using space data and technology, companies like Skyports will provide services that make life better for us all.

"Skyports has previously worked on a fantastic healthcare initiative with the European Space Agency (ESA) and Argyll & Bute HSCP to significantly improve logistics and save time when delivering medical services in the Argyll & Bute region.”

Bucks LEP CEO, Richard Harrington, added: “This announcement by Skyports is fantastic news, with yet another exciting company joining the growing Westcott Cluster capitalising on our Getting Building Fund investment.

“Our timely and targeted use of government funding into transformative research & development hubs is facilitating Buckinghamshire to capitalise on new rapidly growing business sectors to create hundreds of new jobs and opportunities for training and providing facilities for education and space for new businesses to develop their ideas.”

Alex Brown, head of drone services at Skyports, said: “Our move to Westcott Space Cluster and work with Satellite Applications Catapult is testament to the fact that drone services have become a core solution for enhancing critical services with more sustainable, cost-effective alternatives."