North Lincolnshire Council has reportedly submitted a last-gasp bid to buy RAF Kirton, with plans for a major new business, housing and leisure development it says will create thousands of jobs.

The 305-acre site is being sold off as personnel have been relocated to nearby RAF Scampton and the local authority has placed an undisclosed bid for the land, the Scunthorpe Telegraph reports.

The deadline for bid for the site – which opened as an airbase in 1916 and played a key role in WW2 – was noon Friday (29 August), with the sale to the successful bidder expected to be completed by the end of September.

“We are in the final stages of completing the documentation required to bid for the whole camp,” North Lincolnshire Council leader Liz Redfern told the paper.

“Moving forward, if successful, the council will merely act as an enabler to secure this site for local people and to create employment. We will then seek partnerships to develop the employment sites and housing development.

“If we are successful we could have the potential to develop a site that would deliver employment and homes and leisure activities for our residents for years to come.”