RAF Newton For Sale

[Martinburney]

Hi All

The 595 acre airfield site of RAF Newton, Notts, is being sold, with a closing date for offers, by 12 June 2003

Regards Martin Burney

[BEagle]

....and another excellent little aerodrome will no doubt buy the dust.

Yet more houses, no doubt? Or some open-air 'boot' site where thieves and charaltans sell iffy/knocked-off tat and pirated CDs and software?

[topcat450]

Well come on then...lets stop it...I'll chip in..who else is in?

[MikeSamuel]

Hehe! A PPRuNe aerodrome...Now that would REALLY be something. Nice central location...Probably plenty of room...Our own ATC, all the expertise of the countless members involved at the highest level of aviation!

C'mon someone with more cash than me!

I can stretch to the first tenner :D

[bluskis]

Sad news. It will probably be a deal like the Dome. Same lot involved. The government.

However the consolation is that you can always do your flying in France.

[tacpot]

Given that the site was proposed as Asylum Seekers Accomodation Shelter, I suspect the locals would welcome an airfield with open arms! They are also used to light aircraft noise from when the UAS and AEF were based there.

Newton is a perfect grass airfield. The biggest problem is that the local connurbation (Nottingham) already has a good airfield closer than Newton (Tollerton).

Newton's only advantage is that it is all grass! Brilliant for taildragers and vintage aircraft (is the Shuttleworth Collection looking for a new home?), but not really offering any more than Tollerton does.

The locals might be persuaded to chip into a fighting fund to prevent it being turned into a housing estate, but I can't see how you compete with a developer who can build 500 houses on it at £150,000 each. It is probably worth £25m to a developer.

Very disappointed the RAF stopped using it. I was an Air Cadet at Newton and also a member of EMUAS. I fly now because of flights in Chipmunks at Newton.

[topcat450]

but not really offering any more than Tollerton does.

Not yet perhaps...but it'll be like having a blank canvass...make the airfield better! Make it cheaper than tollerton, I understand it's not the cheapest.

Also Newtons just off the A...off the A....the A something :confused: ...you'd get to it easy enough from Notts...Leicester...even up from Newark it'd be straight down the road less than an hour...and if you hooked a couple of unusal machines people would fly in there or drive!

As you said I'm sure the locals would prefer an airfield to a asylum holding block

[fireflybob]

The other interesting thing is that the lease expires on Nottm (Tollerton) aerodrome in about 10 years and I am sure the council will want to build on it.

It would make sense to keep Newton as an aerodrome and then all the tenants at Tollerton would be able to transfer to Newton.

Martinburney, do you know where you can get details of the sale of Newton?

[Chilli Monster]

topcat450
Make it cheaper than tollerton, I understand it's not the cheapest.

Compared to a lot of airfields in the south of the UK I think you'll find the charges are very reasonable. £2400+VAT a year for hangarage (PA28 Warrior) which includes unlimited landings - plus out of hours unlicensed use when the airfield's closed - there are a lot of people out there who'd give their right arm for that sort of arrangement.

Newton is grass and gets very soggy when wet. People's efforts would be better directed in keeping an all weather airfield like Nottingham open after the lease is up.

You have an additional problem with Newton - all the ex-military married quarters were modernised and sold off to people outside of aviation. You'd probably find that you'd be trying to re-open an airfield with its own NIMBY population. Far easier to keep an existing open one going I'm afraid.

[topcat450]

s0d it then...let it dissappear under xyz's latest housing estate.

I was going under the obviously mis-guided thoughts that it'd be good for GA - but nah, who needs another airfield 'eh.


As as for it being reasonable in costs compared to the south....well my house was reasonable compared to the south... a pint in my local is very reasonable when compared to the bars in the city, parking in my town is cheaper when compared to parking prices I pay when I go 'down sarf...

[ShyTorque]

Newton holds a special spot for me too. My career also began there in about 1970 when I flew in a 7 AEF Chippy. I was there again in 1977, also in 1989 and finally in 1999. I'll be very, very sad to see it destroyed.

Tacpot,

When were you at EMUAS?

[Maxflyer]

What happened in the end? Is it now a housing estate?

[tacpot]

Still planned to be Asylum Seekers Accomodation. As far as I am aware, no work has started on the site though, although significant work has been done to beef up the local infrastructure - road improvements, new water mains etc. I think the consultation process is still ongoing, but the local residents have been told that their views on the suitablity of the site will carry little sway in the face of expert opinion (which has deemed it to be suitable).

If the "For Sale" sign is up anywhere still, can someone post a link to it!

ShyTorque - Can't remember if I replied via PM in 03 but I was there between 1984 & 1986. Great times, only bettered by the two annual camps I went on to St. Mawgen and St. Athan!