Looks as though this is a stage nearer realisation.
£20 MILLION boost for London Concorde Project!
updated 11 March 2011
A corporate investment company in the City of London have informed us that they are confident of raising the £20 million investment needed to cover the cost of our London Concorde Project.
We aim to put forward a formal planning application to Lambeth Council in the next few months.There is a great deal of support for the project on the South Bank and we are hopefull of securing the necessary green light by the Summer of 2011.
As such, the Concorde display platform should be constructed over the River Thames by January 2012, with the Concorde receiving her first visitors in March 2012.
The display platform will be situated between the London Eye and Hungerford Bridge, adjacent to Jubilee Gardens. A new jetty is planned, allowing visitors from the embankment and the riverboats, to gain entry to London’s new attraction.
All Club Concorde members will be invited to view the display complex and visit Concorde, free of charge. Concorde aircrew will be on hand to make presentations and conduct special tours of the aircraft.
We have been advised to scale back the proposed facilities on the lower deck of the platform, as these could set a precedent for much more grandiose plans over the River Thames.
As such, we plan to include these activities in a Concorde riverboat which will be moored between the new jetty and the Concorde display platform. Our new jetty will probably be linked to the existing London Eye jetty to ease riverboat traffic congestion on this stretch of the Thames.
The Concorde riverboat will incorporate a memorabilia shop, Concorde presentation area, artifacts display, Mach 2 restaurant serving Concorde cuisine, and Captains’ bar. We may well have a second Concorde riverboat for river cruises for corporate clients and special events.
The following interested parties have been consulted throughout this project, and we thank them for their cooperation ;—
County Hall, English Heritage, the Environment Agency, Lambeth Council, London Eye Company, MET Studio Design, Port of London Authority, RHWL Architects and the South Bank Employers Group.
By: markb - 19th March 2011 at 02:29
It gets shunted around because there’s nowhere to put it. It was in the old Concorde engine test bay for a while. It’s round the back of the hangars now, next to the road so you can get a good view of it – alongside some demobbed 757s that will soon become parcels freighters.
By: Creaking Door - 18th March 2011 at 21:14
Thanks for that information.
Since we’re discussing Concorde and Heathrow (sort of) looking on Google Maps I noticed that the Concorde has moved and at one time seemed to be in some sort of engine testing rig. I know the maps on Google aren’t particularly up-to-date but surely a retired Concorde wouldn’t need to be running its engines; was it just parked there for space reasons?
By: markb - 18th March 2011 at 20:57
AdlerTag
I assure you there is absolutely NO open space around LHR, especially for something as frivolous as an aeropark!
Creaking Door
Massive redevlopment is going on right now. The old T2 (Europa Building) and the Queens Building are gone, and a massive new terminal is being built – this will extend almost to the maintenance area.
By: TwinOtter23 - 18th March 2011 at 20:34
Wasn’t British Airways one of the orginial ‘owners / partners’ in the London Eye project – could that be one of the reasons for trying for the proposed location? :confused:
Mixed reports about why they sold their share in the mid-2000s!
By: AdlerTag - 18th March 2011 at 20:16
markb,
Yes, I realise such a thing is easier said than done, and that land and property prices are pretty ludicrous in the area. But at the same time I can’t help feeling that with a bit of co-operation between BAA and the airlines something along the lines of an aeropark might be possible. Check out Heathrow on Google maps and you’ll see there is still some open space near the airport perimeter, especially to the north and west.
By: Creaking Door - 18th March 2011 at 19:41
Isn’t one of the older terminals due for demolition now that T5 is up and running?
By: markb - 18th March 2011 at 19:38
Adler Tag, I think you need a reality check regarding London property and land prices, and the limited amount of space around LHR!
By: AdlerTag - 18th March 2011 at 19:06
Certainly places like Brooklands, RAFM Hendon and the Science Museum are in London, but the latter two are national collections that happen to be in London, rather than being specifically related to A) London’s aviation history and B) the history of London’s airports. The collection at Brooklands relates mainly to that site in particular, with the Concorde earning its place there through Vickers’ manufacture of various Concorde components at Weybridge.
The madness of this situation is demonstrated by things like the movement of the Trident Three G-AWZK a few years ago (although I applaud the Trident guys for doing so). Why did it have to go to Manchester to go on display in the aeropark there? Why not a Heathrow aeropark at the very least, if not a full blown museum?
By: michelf - 18th March 2011 at 17:13
Here’s the link to the website of the organisation behind the plan, Club Concorde.
http://www.clubconcorde.co.uk/concorde_for_london.php
I looked at this website about a month ago, and the plans appear to have been completely revised. A month ago the plans showed the Concorde positioned along the bank of the river, rather than at a right angle to it and crucially the plans showed her INSIDE a glass building, rather than perched on this raft thing.
Personally I’m uneasy about it being displayed outdoors, yes it can be maintained but why do all that work over and over when you could stick a roof over it and not have to worry? Nature usually wins, outdoor airframe preservation is usually two steps forward and three steps back. I’d be happy to be proved wrong…
A very very very long shot this, but personally I’d like to see a kind of London Air Museum set up somewhere near Heathrow. With the likes of Heston, Hanworth, Hounslow Heath, Stag Lane etc not far away, it would be great to have a museum that covered London’s aviation history. I would like to see Concorde become a founding airframe in such a collection. Pipe dream I know, but it would be the best outcome.
Wouldn’t that be Brooklands?….
Anotehr one to add to the Science Museum/ RAF Museum and brooklands is not realistic…
By: XF828 - 18th March 2011 at 12:43
Given current worries about tsunamis and nuclear plants, will this Concorde jetty have tsunami protection? If so, that is about the only reason why it need cost 20 million quid!!
By: Mark12 - 17th March 2011 at 17:20
“We still need new members to help us fund this Campaign. Life membership of Club Concorde, the Concorde Captains’ Club, is just £10-00, and for a further £9-00 you can purchase a colour copy of our quality A4 Campaign print, as seen on our Home page, which is a photograph of Concorde and a Battle of Britain Spitfire, taken over the White Cliffs of Dover in 1990, the fiftieth anniversary of the Battle.”
By: AdlerTag - 17th March 2011 at 17:03
Here’s the link to the website of the organisation behind the plan, Club Concorde.
http://www.clubconcorde.co.uk/concorde_for_london.php
I looked at this website about a month ago, and the plans appear to have been completely revised. A month ago the plans showed the Concorde positioned along the bank of the river, rather than at a right angle to it and crucially the plans showed her INSIDE a glass building, rather than perched on this raft thing.
Personally I’m uneasy about it being displayed outdoors, yes it can be maintained but why do all that work over and over when you could stick a roof over it and not have to worry? Nature usually wins, outdoor airframe preservation is usually two steps forward and three steps back. I’d be happy to be proved wrong…
A very very very long shot this, but personally I’d like to see a kind of London Air Museum set up somewhere near Heathrow. With the likes of Heston, Hanworth, Hounslow Heath, Stag Lane etc not far away, it would be great to have a museum that covered London’s aviation history. I would like to see Concorde become a founding airframe in such a collection. Pipe dream I know, but it would be the best outcome.
By: Creaking Door - 17th March 2011 at 15:58
The purpose of the Sharjah Museums Department is to deliver the highest quality of museums services for the people of the Emirate of Sharjah and all its visitors…
That doesn’t sound very commercial to me. 😉
By: AMB - 17th March 2011 at 15:53
Can anybody think of a single aviation-based commercial museum operation anywhere in the world?
Perhaps this one?
http://www.sharjahmuseums.ae/SMDWebsite/Museums/Al_Mahatta_Museum.aspx
By: Sky High - 17th March 2011 at 14:44
Yes they are gross figures. Unless we access the company’s accounts we would have no other figures.
Clearly no one knows the details of the costing plan for the project, other than those involved, so no meaningful comment can be made.
By: avion ancien - 17th March 2011 at 14:39
The Eye receives about 2.5 million visitos a year payiongh an average of £12 = £30 million p.a. At a very conservative 25% of these figures Concorde would generate over £7 million p.a. plus the other income sources as described above.
Just for the avoidance of doubt, can you confirm that these are gross – rather than net – income figures. Does anyone know what net income the London Eye produces? What level of overheads are to be expected for the ‘Floating Concorde’ project? I’m no expert on this particular point but I would have thought that a floating entertainment complex, in central London and with a large aeroplane mounted on top, would make a substantial draw on the gross income.
By: Peter - 17th March 2011 at 14:26
Wasn’t it stripped out years ago?
By: Mark12 - 17th March 2011 at 14:25
Is it proposed that there will be access inside the Concorde?
Is it still fitted out with seats?
Mark
By: Creaking Door - 17th March 2011 at 13:56
Aren’t museums tourist attractions then?
I don’t think this plan is a tourist attraction, it’s a themed restaurant; those willing to pay for the food will not care if there’s a Concorde on the roof, and those interested in the Concorde will not care to pay for the food.
I’m not against this plan; I just don’t think it is commercially viable. We’ll see. 🙂
By: Sky High - 17th March 2011 at 13:18
But, and this for the last time, it is not a museum. It is a tourist attraction. Anyway we are entering the realms of total speculation and I’m for the project and you’re not, so is there any more mileage left in this?
I’m sure we’ll return to it in a few months time when there is more news.:)
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March 14, 2011 at 7:33 am