was designed with four crossing tarmac runways allowing aircraft to take off in any direction. The Cofton Hackett factory constructed over 3,000 aircraft during the war years and thousands of engines and wings for other marques of aircraft. After the war, the factory was converted for the production of military vehicles by Austin, who had won a contract for the production of the 1/4 ton truck from the War Department's CombaT (CT) range of vehicles, popularly known as the Austin Champ. Production of some 13,750 vehicles took place between September 1951 – May 1956. The factory closed in the 1960s. A new engine assembly plant was constructed in its place to build E-Series Engines and transmissions for the Austin Maxi. With the demise of the Rover group in the 1990s the land is to be developed for housing. With new employment opportunities at the Austin works, expansion took place in the late 1930s on the northern edge of the hamlet close to the boundary with Cofton Park which became the major centre of population. With the village spread over several separate locations the actual centre of Cofton Hackett is no longer clearly defined. The old tram terminus and the newsagent's, the Post Office in Parsonage Drive, and the village hall all have central importance. Cofton Hackett developed from the opening of the Austin motor works at Longbridge in 1905 and most of the shops are on the northern edge of the village that was transferred from Kings Norton to Cofton Hackett in 1911 together the extension of the City of Birmingham to the northern boundary of the village. The transfer of parts of Rednal to Cofton parish and the breakup of the Earl of Plymouth's estate released more land for development in 1919, and the extension of the Birmingham tramlines to the Rednal terminus in 1924 placed it within commuting distance from the city. With the closing of the Longbridge Motor Factory employment opportunities in the immediate area were reduced and the village is now reverting to its former rural character from before the modernisations of the 20th century. Governance Cofton Hackett falls within the Bromsgrove constituency, which is represented by Sajid Javid MP, Conservative since 2010. The district ward is represented by two councillors to Bromsgrove District Council, Richard Deeming – Conservative and Ann Doyle – Independent, and the County Councillor is Peter McDonald – Labour Party. Geography The