Lyneham's Land Could Be Worthless?
In all this debate, I have not seen any figures gien for the realisable value of the Lyneham estate. Some has been sold/released over the years, but as the land was effectively siezed just before WWII, its net realiable value could be very low indeed.
I have it on very good authority that the majority of land that comprised wartime Lyneham was requisitioned under the Emergency Powers (Defence Regulations) Act. The three sites (FTS, ASU/MU and Transport Command Airfield) were requisitioned from a couple of landowners for c £25,000 in old money; the provisions of the Act required the land to be returned to the original owners at the unimproved value. Given the extensive contamination (fuel, asbestos, heavy metals, possible ordnance, possible radioactive - radium paint, asbestos etc) means that the MOD would ahve to pay the new owners to take on the environmental liability - as was doen with teh Rosyth Fuels Depot a decade ago. The details of the owners, the parcels of land and the purchase prices are given in the Air ministry Terrier, last seen at the Defence Lands Office (now DE) at Durrington Walls, Wilts.
WP