Scampton

Back in August 2008 myself, along with Gordon White of Skysim and Brian Franklin ( then with Skysim) visited Scampton to aquire photographic material for the scenery Team SDB produced. We were driven around the airfield by the retiring Reds Adjutant.

Eventually discusion got around to the reported vacation of Scampton to Waddington by the Reds. He told us that:

a) Scampton was an English Heritage site and so had to remain in existence add to that the fact that 1 Hangar then [now] housed the Dambusters museum.

b) Even if the Reds moved to Waddington they couldn’t practise there and would still have to practise over Scampton. That would mean manning the tower, fire crew and ground crew attendance probably even even the Medical Centre remaining operational. Not to mention hangarage and repair facilities in case of emergency landings eg. bird strike.

c) There is a rather hush hush outfit now operating from the old Airmens Mess as we learnt when we got ‘lifted’ by the RAF fuzz for photographing it.( They didn’t erase ’em all tho’) :diablo:

All in all it seemed unlikely that Scampton would close. Remember Scampton closed once before and was re-opened as the Reds base because they were already using it for practise when at Cranwell. So back then it was realised by Top Brass that it made sense to man it permanently.

Ah yes it’s also an MoD filming location. I think it is to be used for the new Dambusters film

Mickey D
Team SDB Scenery for MSFS

Hardly hush hush from the Scampton Site…….
Introduction: Air defence for the United Kingdom is performed by the UK Air Surveillance And Control System (ASACS), through the Chief Of Staff Operations, for Strike Command.
Within the ASACS, the CRC, or Control and Reporting Centre, performs two functions; the first is to produce a Recognised Air Picture of the UK’s airspace and the second is to police that airspace, scrambling fighters where necessary to intercept and identify any aircraft that are deemed to be suspicious.

To bridge the gap between the old ASACS system and the new NATO ACCS system due to be online around 2012, the UK Air Defence Ground Environment (UKADGE) Capability Maintenance Programme (UCMP) was born and IBM won the contract to supply the interim computer system at two locations. The CRC at RAF Boulmer is the first of these new CRCs which has been operational since July 2004 and the second CRC was created here at RAF Scampton and came online in January 2006.

The CRC currently employs approximately 150 personnel who are either Fighter Controllers or Engineers and is housed in a building which was used to brief the ‘Dambuster’ Squadron prior to their historic raid in World War II.

Sadly guys nothing sinister about the wind turbine damage ! a report I read recently attributed it to metal fatigue on a bolt .

Well we didn’t think it was hush hush but Plod obviously did. We had to erase all our pics of the Airman’s Mess…………..or almost all 🙂

Then it was blades shedding ice. Hmm! Also a line drawn between Waddington and Donna Nook goes right through…….let’s see………..ah Cornisholme wind farm.

Sadly guys nothing sinister about the wind turbine damage ! a report I read recently attributed it to metal fatigue on a bolt .

…..which is just what they would want you to believe.

The future of a Lincolnshire air base is secure, the Government’s Defence Secretary has assured Lincolnshire Echo readers

Well there you have it then. If you ever needed a pretty clear indication that a base will close, then this must be it!

I still stick with my long-held view that (as some have said on this thread) Scampton will survive as long as the Reds do. I’m sure that’s the case but of course the Reds will only survive as long as their Hawks do. They are good for a few more years but once they reach retirement, the team will inevitably go (there’s nothing to replace the Hawks with) and it follows that a huge air base with absolutely no purpose (not even for the air space above it) will be redundant. I don’t think anyone would put much money on a CRC or anything else being supported at Scampton in isolation.

Oh I don’t know.
There is many an acre of good land for cabbages, carrots, potato’s, swede’s, wouldn’t take them long to rip it all up.
Also anyone proposing to knock it down and rebuild an housing estate and industrial units would as in the past have the full backing of the government in power. You only have to look at any of the other RAF bases that have closed that had historical connections.

One can picture now in a museum not far from the site..

This is the original stone laid in memory of ‘Nigger’ Wing Commander (Guy) Gibson’s Dog. The actual burial of his pet Labrador was some miles away at RAF Scampton which is now a cabbage field.

Beggars belief does it not?

The future of a Lincolnshire air base is secure, the Government’s Defence Secretary has assured Lincolnshire Echo readers

Well there you have it then. If you ever needed a pretty clear indication that a base will close, then this must be it!

I still stick with my long-held view that (as some have said on this thread) Scampton will survive as long as the Reds do. I’m sure that’s the case but of course the Reds will only survive as long as their Hawks do. They are good for a few more years but once they reach retirement, the team will inevitably go (there’s nothing to replace the Hawks with) and it follows that a huge air base with absolutely no purpose (not even for the air space above it) will be redundant. I don’t think anyone would put much money on a CRC or anything else being supported at Scampton in isolation.

I thought Area 51 is, or certainly was, at Boscombe Down?

😮

Nooooo. 😀

It’s beside the M11 at Duxford :diablo:

Brian

I thought Area 51 is, or certainly was, at Boscombe Down?

😮

Did you mean Kier? 😉  I agree, a change in the political colour of the Government will be unlikely to change anything.

“….The government has announced the use/requirement will be for 3 ½ years….”

It goes up everytime they say anything about it.  Anybody who thinks that the arrangement is anything other than indefinite (and likely to expand in size) is deluding themselves.

Re. XH558: “….However, the local authority have purchased the site and granted XH558 a right of stay….”

As far as anything that has been made public is concerned, Donaster Council are still in negotiations with Peel regarding leasing the airport from them in order to re-open it as an airport. Nothing has been said about trying to purchase the site.  Obviously if that plan comes to pass, XH558 will be able to remain at Finningley (Doncaster Council have always said that want it to remain there).  In the meantime, VTTS have negotiated with Peel for an extension to their permission to remain for now.  As yet there has been no public announcement about anything being a ‘done deal’.

If Labour win the next election are they not going to scrap the idea anyway ? At least thats what Sir Keith Starmer said, obviously he is after the votes with the local and not so local population and with an election supposedly later this year it makes you wonder whether this is all delaying tactics. The way Rishi and Co are performing that might well be the case

A little update: first arrivals are due 14 Apr 24. The government has announced the use/requirement will be for 3 ½ years. It had previously stated 3 years and before that 1 year. Last time the parties were in court the government stated the use would be for 3 years.

There will not be any formal planning application – merely emergency powers. WLDC have a different view of course. In the Autumn, WLDC were granted an appeal against the High Court decision to turn down their case. That has not been exercised yet with no agreed date for the hearing. I suspect the governments case will not be helped by a constant mission creep as far as an end date is concerned, and their refusal to accept the STOP notice which remains in force.

The site itself has a portacabin village built on the old Red Arrows pan with more portacabins parked on the taxiway nearby. It is thought that these will be moved onto the Red’s pan in due course. At least 1, if not 2 former barrack blocks have been converted into office accommodation. However, these are quite some distance, across the site, from the portacabins.

It was going to move from SDA – and by road. The details are in this thread. However, the local authority have purchased the site and granted XH558 a right of stay.

But if you are talking about it moving to Scampton the first hoop to jump throu’ is in the hands of the Home Office and pending legal action WLDC/SHL v Home Office date TBC.

The possibility of it ever flying again was done and dusted some months ago by the CAA.

Is anyone able to provide a status regarding XH558 vis-a-vis a possible move (without any political statements)? I’ve seen talk of it ‘definitely’ moving, which seems naive, given that “scrap and bury on site” is an option, no matter how daft it sounds. In other words, nothing is ‘definite’ until it happens. I’ve dismantled and reassembled aircraft ranging in size from Meteor to C-130, so I know what can be done, notwithstanding the availability of manpower, resources, cash and an airframe that’s designed to be taken apart and reassembled.

So sensibly the options would seem to be either ‘dismantling’ (as far as possible to allow rebuild elsewhere) or scrapping and hopefully saving some big bits. Incidentally, somehow ‘dismantling’ has started to be used for aircraft which are obviously being scrapped, so can we use terminology that won’t confuse the issue?

The small boats issue should not be as bad as it is. Poor management by the Government has compounded the issue.

But that is not what this forum is for. This thread is about the future use of Scampton. Earlier I spoke about MOD Catterick and what I believe to be the former RAF Catterick. It is a matter of record the PM has changed his mind about the use of that North Yorkshire site. In the main this has been done because the locals have been complaining. Those locals are his constituents. It also shows a level of comparison with what is happening there and the Governments activities in North Lincolnshire.

By changing the Catterick site to a Removal Centre – further delays the change of use. The site will require a prison style security fence. That fence will require time to install – more delay!! The result will be his constituents will be happier at least in the short term.

One of the best recent initiatives the Government has come up with was levelling up. Central Government funds projects for the benefit of locals across England (if not the UK). Yes, it’s not perfect, but it is delivering positive results.

Development of the Scampton site could be seen as a levelling up project. However, the funds have come from non-Government sources. £300m of private funding to support the local, North Lincolnshire, economy whilst developing the site into something we can all, across the land, be proud and impressed with.

But we haven’t got that have we? A small area of the site has been stolen from the public for the Holding Centre. While the rest of the most famous RAF base ever, is left to rot. It is a matter of record that World-Class companies and universities who have said they would like to move on to the site are having to be turned away.

My fear is that the £300m funding will be lost and in 2027 (or is it now 2028?). The site will be left derelict, and my home county of Lincolnshire will be left to pick up the mess left by the Home Office – reverse levelling up if you will.

If they are trying to return to the countries they are claiming to want asylum from, then it pretty clearly demonstrates that they are not genuine asylum seekers, but simply economic chancers – they should have been sent back home ages ago if the Home Office and civil servants processing the applications had pulled their fingers out and processed their applications promptly, and properly. 

Hi All,

  Do you think this is because some of those asylum seekers/illegal’s are going home for Christmas at tax payer expenses ? https://www.google.com/search?q=asylum+seekers+return+hone+for+christmas&sca_esv=593274838&rlz=1C1CHBD_en-GBGB721GB812&ei=XfiGZberMrvn7_UPkLmguAU&ved=0ahUKEwj3zZba66WDAxW787sIHZAcCFcQ4dUDCBA&uact=5&oq=asylum+seekers+return+hone+for+christmas&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiKGFzeWx1bSBzZWVrZXJzIHJldHVybiBob25lIGZvciBjaHJpc3RtYXMyBxAhGKABGAoyBxAhGKABGApIuIcBUKULWIOFAXABeAGQAQCYAc4BoAHfI6oBBzE2LjIzLjG4AQPIAQD4AQGoAgrCAhYQABgDGI8BGOUCGOoCGLQCGIwD2AEBwgIWEC4YAxiPARjlAhjqAhi0AhiMA9gBAcICChAuGIAEGIoFGEPCAhYQLhiABBiKBRhDGLEDGIMBGMcBGNEDwgIOEAAYgAQYigUYsQMYgwHCAgsQABiABBixAxiDAcICCxAuGIAEGLEDGIMBwgIFEAAYgATCAhEQLhiABBixAxiDARjHARjRA8ICGRAuGIAEGIoFGEMYlwUY3AQY3gQY4ATYAQLCAgsQABiABBiKBRiRAsICFxAuGIAEGIoFGJECGLEDGIMBGMcBGNEDwgILEC4YgwEYsQMYgATCAg4QLhiABBixAxjHARjRA8ICCBAAGIAEGLEDwgIUEAAYgAQYigUYkQIYsQMYgwEYyQPCAgsQABiABBiKBRiSA8ICBBAAGAPCAgUQLhiABMICERAuGIAEGLEDGIMBGMcBGK8BwgIOEAAYgAQYigUYkQIYsQPCAhEQABiABBiKBRiRAhixAxiDAcICBhAAGBYYHsICCBAAGBYYHhgPwgILEAAYgAQYigUYhgPCAggQABgFGB4YDcICBBAhGBXCAggQIRgWGB4YHcICChAhGBYYHhgdGAriAwQYACBBiAYBugYECAEYCroGBggCEAEYFA&sclient=gws-wiz-serp

Or are they just making room for the fresh influx on exchange from Rwanda ?

Geoff.

It has been announced that part of Catterick Garrison in the PM’s constituency will not after all be used as a Holding Centre. The PM has said all along having migrants in his constituency was about showing leadership. What is the latest decision supposed to show?

I believe the area, of Catterick, is the former RAF Catterick which was absorbed into the Army base a few years ago following the RAF’s departure. 

The Home Office states the area is now being considerd as a Removal Centre. Migrants here will have failed to get their cases proven and are awaiting return home. This site will have a security fence around it – so no mingling with the local population. That is most likely why the PM is happier with that solution. 

WLDC have stated they intend to appeal the recent High Court ruling against them.  So its back to Court in the new year.  Lets hope common sense will be seen this time. Good luck WLDC and SHL.