Originally Posted by
Thomas coupling
Two things:
Cambridge Airport are not renewing any future aviation company contracts at their airfield forcing them to depart further afield. The reason is under wraps but the front runner for rumour is that Cambridge (Marshall's) will be selling off big chunks of their airfield for housing and very very soon.................. Police helicopter base in amongst a housing estate - I don' think so.
Secondly, Wales as a country - hasn't had a police air support for 3 years. Dyfed first then N Wales were next.
No wonder someone's kicking off that National Police Sir Support is one big joke!
Hmm, be very interesting to see what proposed areas are deemed to be sold off If you recall a decade or so ago, the orignal plan for Marshalls leave / pressure by the council to relocate to either Wyton, or share space with Mildenhall. Consquently the City peeps at ****e Hall could rub their hands in glee and build new houses with gusto. That has not happened thankfully and where could Marshalls relocate to then within the region? You can forget the two aforementioned bases
Or unless some bright spark thinks of Alconbury then will approach Huntingdon District again, followed by Urban & Civic / Saviles who own the airfield now. Get them to stop tearing up the runway on Alconbury Weald and stop all construction (bit late as several very large warehosues/offices almost hangar like in size and appearence have been built) plus a new village Then ask the remaining USAFE 501st next door if they would not mind their former digs the other side of the fence being a commercial airport/MRO. Laughingly that was a proposal for an air cargo hub 2 deacdes ago when the USAFE closed that side down and MoD flogged the airfield bit off. Ironically it was not all of Huntingdon, The STukelys opposition that killed the idea but the then BR before it got privatised. As BR was gonna pay for extension / loading area / freight terminal from the Huntingdon to Peterborough line which goes past the airfield. British Rail or WAGN pulled out, so i heard.
Also there is a desparation to build houses here..does not matter if it is in a tiny crack of where a dilapidated shack was. There is even talk of developers wanting to build apartments in a pub car park! For those of you who know my old neck of the woods, there is Histon, a village which is on the outskirts. Beside the (Mis on Un) Guided Busway (formerly a train line which linked the city to the other villages and up to Huntingdon) lies the Railway Vue Pub. Please look at it on google earth, and check out the car park because developers are itching to build on it, but let the pub remain as it is. Mates mate who lives next door but one pub says the developers have twice been unsuccessful in applying for planning application. He says there have been leaflets dropped in every villagers letterbox about this situation.
Everyone knows here in from the Mathematical Bridge to Cambridge City FC gorund and from Madingley to Ely Cathedral that Marshalls would not nor never bow down to pressure from ****e Hall to move/sell unless it was in their best (financial) interests. The two major bigwigs here are the Uni and Marshalls, nothing moves or breaks wind here unless either one says so.
Looking at what Marshalls offer -
1) Marshalls Business Aviation and Marshalls Executive Aviation -Corporate aviation is a big thing here, location wise its perfect considering the high tech industry / silicon fen around here.
2) C-130 work here anyone who operates a Herk from the Arctic Circle to the Mid East comes in.
3) Few flying clubs including Aeromega Helicopters, Cambridge Flying Club, Cambridge Aero Club (Tiger Moth pairs)
4) BA Cityflyer uses the runway here for their London City Embrer E170 crews to practise their approaches every other weekend to emulate the small tight confines practise of London City.
5) Anglia One is based here
etc etc
Admittedly the mil aviation business for Marshalls maybe a tad slow , and they closed their Defence vehicle place at Mildenhall (just opposite Folly Lane / spotters area on the south side of runway 29 of RAF Mildenhall) the other year.
Anyhow with all the expansion or implosion here, logic dictates be nice to have NPAS presence here.
cheers