BL
{{ Re Stretton - I did add the caveat that I wasn't sure how much of it was available for GA use. I will do as you say, and check the place out for myself. If it's that well equipped, (hangars clubhouse?), why haven't GA operators moved there already?}}
Although the motorway cut the former airfield in two, the south part still exists and does not have any new build on it. It has been owned by Shell for probably 40 years, they use it for fuel testing and can have cars driving around non-stop 24 hours per day. They do not want anything to interfere with their schedule. The place is not for sale, there are no hangars or clubhouse as you queried. It is totally private property. Various people have made approaches to Shell over the years, and the answer has always been the same. The terms on offer would not make any aviation involvement financially viable.
I too have always found the staff at HAW to be friendly and accommodating, but for the subject topic of this thread, Hawarden is not near Manchester. ATC anywhere will always stay open if you pay. This was one of the problems at Woodford. AML would agree to pay the extra to keep the place open outside BAE hours, but there comes a point where an evening's training movements would not cover the additional expenditure. That equation would equally apply to HAW and any other airfield. I appreciate what you are saying, but in my long experience it just won't work. If I was Airbus I would not want anything to interfere with the wing production schedule which is bringing in more money and accounting for more jobs than a hundred movements of GA aircraft ever could.
As to Woodvale. Nice airfield, miles from anywhere. How long it lasts is again in the mists of crystal ball gazing. Shutting it down has been on the cards for many years and it is surprising that with the MoD cut backs it is still around. It would make a nice new housing estate for some builder. Anyway, it is nowhere near Manchester and difficult to drive to once you are off the motorway system.
Cessna 1 Plate
{{The mighty Peel cannot be allowed to carry on as they have been doing. Why don't they, and here's a novel idea, develop the site into a small sized regional airport. Tarmac runways, terminals that sort of thing. Only a 5 minute ride into the city, on top of the motorway network. The business flyers will love it. Or am I being silly????}}
No you are not being silly. It is just that this has been talked to death for the past 30+ years, so is hardly 'novel'.
helicopter-redeye
don't want to appear picky, but you have omitted Durham Tees Valley, or whatever they call Tees Side, from the Peel List. Note that in all these cases Peel have acquired the sites for the potential brownfield development areas which lie within the respective airfield boundaries. That's where the money is.
{{Taking into account the whole Peel Aviation empire across the North, L'pool, Barton, Sheffield, RH-Donc-Shefd-Int this needs AOPA support else it will just be a talking shop.}}
AOPA? Now that is silly. AOPA are really out of their depth as they found out with a similar situation when Manchester Airport tried (and mostly succeeded) in kicking GA out of Manchester Airport when the Second Runway was at the planning stages. AOPA were left scurrying off with their tail between their legs, with a parting shot of "we have deeper pockets than AOPA and we will see you bankrupt" (or words to that effect). Never came back and the local GA community were left to sort themselves out. That organisation lost a lot of members in the NW.
At least if Sheffield eventually goes you can run to Netherthorpe, DSA, maybe Gamston. What have the Barton boys and girls got? Blackpool, Huddersfield, Chester, Liverpool, Sleap. All miles away from the local Greater Manchester GA community.
But, and it is a big BUT, Barton should be around certainly in 5 years, maybe 10. The planning and project games don't come to fruition overnight. The level of flying activity will now hinge around how much an individual can afford. As it is, those taking to the 3-axis microlight route are growing month by month, with farm strips opening up all over the place. Perhaps this is the way to go if all you want is cheap pleasure flying. Light aviation in the UK as we knew it 20 years ago is effectively dead thanks to the likes of compulsory handling agents, high landing/handling fees, astronomical maintenance bills, CAA/JAA/EASA fees and regulations.
Maybe, just MAYBE, Peel will develop Barton into an upgraded permanent GA facility, something it has long cried out for, but without a long term lease no one could obtain the grants which were/are on offer to development the airfield. Now under new ownership Peel could apply for EEC grant funding. The airfield has been surveyed and plans drawn up which would include a hard runway. It is one thing to put these ideas on a CAD, it is yet another to put any part of that plan into action. So who knows what the end game will be? As has already been said, not even Peel know the answer. Barton is just one piece in the jigsaw of surrounding developments.