Much as we expected, Greg Clark the new Communities Secretary has issued an instruction to departments to ‘loosen their grip’ on sites that are lying idle.
By 2020 he wants to find enough land upon which to plant 150,000 new houses. He doesn’t mention anything about infrastructure eg. the ‘nuts and bolts’ that comprise access roads, medical centers. schools, shops etc.
Mr. Clark specifically refers to land in the ‘ownership’ of the NHS and – this is where most of us come in – MoD land. In targeting airfields, the heat is turned on in no uncertain terms. Where will the first demolitions take place ? Spoilt for choice; Wroughton? Lyneham? Middle Wallop?
Perhaps in the near future we’ll all be flying floatplanes !
By: mike currill - 3rd June 2015 at 14:14
Tony, the impetus for housing land means that little is sacred.
That’s true but Lyneham is remaining MOD property and major building works are either ongoing or due to commence shortly.
By: John Green - 2nd June 2015 at 16:00
Charlie yes,
it is the loss of an airfield never to be replaced that is the nub. It sets in train and encourages a process that views airfields as ‘brownfield’ sites and liable to easy development.
By: John Green - 2nd June 2015 at 15:53
Lyneham is being developed as the engineering school, so forget that one.
Tony, the impetus for housing land means that little is sacred.
By: Null Orifice - 2nd June 2015 at 13:39
Lyneham is being developed as the engineering school, so forget that one.
Wroughton is soon to become a solar ‘power station’.
By: charliehunt - 2nd June 2015 at 13:28
A very tentative dip of the toe into waters alien to me, but isn’t most GA flying from privately owned airfields rather than MoD sites?:)
By: TonyT - 2nd June 2015 at 12:57
Lyneham is being developed as the engineering school, so forget that one.
By: Moggy C - 2nd June 2015 at 12:39
With Grant Schapps in the doghouse there’s nobody to fight the GA corner.
Moggy
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June 2, 2015 at 11:04 am