You may recall that the October 2010 NPAS plan had lots of basing ideas.... there was foggy Colerne and a tranche of unresearched other bases that it seems clear have resulted in the surprised owners and other occupants saying 'No thank you' to unexpected basing proposals.
I just picked up on a confirming story relating to Southend [where the Essex aircraft was supposed to go when the gravel extraction forced them out of Boreham].
Sad and neglected Southend Airport is on the up it seems and welcoming easyJet as its major operator from April 2012. 800,000 passengers initially and more for the future. Stobart Group are pumping £60m in and getting 70 easyJet services per week to 10 different European destinations to help them along.
Why would they want a helicopter cluttering up their airspace? Well I guess that the 'research' only recalled 'sad and neglected' from some ten year old brochure and not what was actually happening.