"We're not going anywhere!" That is the message from the Midland Air Museum just weeks before the gates are closed on the neighbouring Coventry Airport. And for the chairman of the trustees, the museum's work is now more important than ever.

Barry James has been at the forefront of the centre for 30 years and is already planning events to make the museum's 60th anniversary next year.

A proud Coventry lad, he has seen the rise and fall of the airport and is anxious that the city's aviation heritage is not forgotten when it evolves into Greenpower Park incorporating the West Midlands Gigafactory.

"As an air museum, our role is to make people aware of the heritage and history of the area which is considerable with companies we had along with Sir Frank Whittle who was born in Coventry. There is also the role this place played in the war.

"When the airport goes, our role becomes even more important, maintaining that heritage to make people aware of what skills were in the area. It is important to know how things have developed – everything has a process."

The nationally accredited museum, regarded as one of the country's leading independent aviation museums, has 60 aircraft along with a further 250 engines and numerous artefacts and memorabilia. Staffed by a team of five employees and around 40 working volunteers with ages ranging from 18 to 96, it opens seven days a week throughout the year apart from two days over Christmas. It is also home to the Sir Frank Whittle Jet Heritage Centre.

"People give a lot of their time and energy to make the place function which is something we are proud of," Barry added. "We work with universities, model groups, various schools and societies who hold meetings here at the museum in the evenings and working with the local community is one of our key objectives. We're not going anywhere."

The airport has been owned by the Rigby Group since 2009 and it is set to close on June 11 when the site will become Greenpower Park which is a joint venture between Coventry City Council and Coventry Airport. In January, it was announced that a £23m funding package had been secured from the West Midlands Combined Authority.

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And while it is hoped that the investment will help create up to 6,000 jobs, Mr Jones said Coventry could have had the best of both worlds.

"I would suggest that the airport deserved better. It could have been an asset. The gigafactory could have been built elsewhere on the site and the runway could have been kept for executive jets and other forms of training that other airports don't want. Birmingham just want the big stuff.

"The airport is perfectly placed on the road network. It needed expenditure and no-one wanted to spend anything. There was a market but it needed people with foresight.

"The airport is now at the end which is a shame because once an airport is gone, it's gone. Sadly it has become an orphan. It has no-one to support it. Neither Warwickshire nor Coventry want it to grow for some reason. The companies here wanted to keep it going but there was no real support.

"Coventry airport has been allowed to wither and die and that has been allowed to happen because most local people don't even know it is here."