Goodbye Waterbeach

[Arclite01]

Goodbye Waterbeach, according to BBC Look East today due for 'rapid development' into 6500 homes, 4 schools and some light industrial units plus café culture area based around the artificial lake...................

BBC Local Live: Cambridgeshire - BBC News (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-england-cambridgeshire-39084934?ns_mchannel=social&ns_source=twitter&ns_campaign=bbc_live&ns_linkname=58b43a33e4b07f8d679ff297%26New%20town%20proposal s%20open%20for%20consultation%26&ns_fee=0#post_58b43a33e4b07f8d679ff297)

Up to a maximum of 19000 homes to be built on 3 local Ex-MoD sites (Eeek !!) - I am assuming the Beach, Brampton and Wyton.

Arc

[Pegasus107]

Oakington?

[aw ditor]

Already being built on, up to 10.000 units max'.

[sled dog]

Served there early 60`s with 64 Sqdn.Good times had by all in the White Horse Pub. Some of the local "ladies" were quite friendly :E

[DC10RealMan]

Home of the mighty Shorts Stirling.

[pr00ne]

And has not been a Royal Air Force station since 1967, that's FIFTY years!

[Shackman]

Little bit later than that - my first Varsity solo was there in 1968, whilst it was still an RLG for Oakington.

[Geordie_Expat]

If memory serves, when I was at RAF Newmarket (1968-69), Waterbeach was home to 39 Eng Regt.

[Arclite01]

The Sappers are at Kinloss now

Arc

[Kitty Hawk 1]

Gosh that name takes me back. I was awarded an RAF flying scholarship (maybe the wrong term) to do a PPL at Cambridge in 1975. Waterbeach often featured in cross-countries.

[ValMORNA]

Had an interesting week there in the late 1940's with the Air Training Corps, getting air time in the Dakotas stationed there.

[nicolai]

Rapid, haha. I hear the plan from the developer is to build 200 homes a year, starting with the (obviously more desirable and easier) green fields and eventually moving on to the MOD land later - much later.

If it was really being built at say 2000 houses/year then it might help the local housing shortage, but trickling them out at 200/ year is just profiting from high house prices over a long time without materially relieving the housing shortage.

[Arclite01]

Nicolai

You are spot on - controlled money making pipeline for the developers......

Arc

[Warmtoast]

When I was in Fighter Command (1953-1956), 56 Sqn was based at Waterbeach and equipped with the first Swifts until they were withdrawn with handling problems.
I took this photo of 56 Sqn (Waterbeach - based) Swift F1 WK207 ‘N’ complete with squadron red and white checkerboard markings in the spring of 1954. The Swift was introduced into the RAF in February 1954, becoming the RAF's first British-built and into service swept-wing aircraft, but unfortunately, because of major control problems when flying at high altitude which resulted in several accidents, they were grounded for a while in August 1954 whilst attempts were made to sort out the aircraft's problems.


http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r231/thawes/Biggin%20Hill%20Early%201950s/56%20Sqn%20Swift%20Mk%201_zpsdrpeyfib.jpg

[pr00ne]

F86 Sabre was the RAF's first swept wing fighter in 1952.

[Warmtoast]

Thank you for the clarification - text amended accordingly.


WT

[BEagle]

In fact aren't those a pair of F-86 parked between the Swift F1 and the B-45?

When I was on 56(F), the squadron photo album of the Swift era made for very interesting reading...:\

[Warmtoast]

BEagle


Yep - two F-86's from Manston with the B-45 from Sculthorpe. Photo taken at 1954 annual ROC "Recognition Day" at Biggin.