Show your support for Booker

[johno1066]

I'm sure most have been here before, Wycombe Air Park is already under threat from the bulldozer with the Council wanting to use the land for a stadium and businesss, it is now under threat from a small group of campaigners who are doing their utmost to close the airfield. This includes organising multiple complaints and using what appears to be the zoom lense on a camera.

YouTube - Wycombe Air Park - noise nuisance 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfcZ9naJ8uE)

YouTube - Wycombe Air Park - noise nuisance (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRZO-qatj04)

Complaint On Youtube Over Air Park (from Bucks Free Press) (http://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/display.var.2420978.0.complaint_on_youtube_over_air_park.php )

The main protagonist moved next to the airfield in 1993 and has now decided that the airfield (which has been there since 1939) has to go because.............of heath & safety and of the noise.

I'm sure most will hopefully take time to show support for Booker which IMO, is one of the finest aerodromes in the country. Thanks!

[overfly]

the name of the main protester says it all !

(63 yr old Mrs Pratt....)

[dontpressthat]

Im left with no option but to start up a rival campaign...

AGAWAPAG (action group against wycombe air park action group)
We'll take our mighty air park members and meet there measley 100 strong gaggle in the car park.. (not literally obviously).

I'll have my legal people draw something up.

DPT

[Cypherus]

That Wycombe Air Park has come under threat should be of no real surprise to anyone after all it is prime development land long lusted after by those willing to invest vast sums of money too build Retail parks and Stadiums.

Also one should not be fooled in thinking that Said Mrs Pratt is anything more than a front for these corporations, Little old lady being pestered in her dotage by thousands of highly dangerous flying machines all emitting ear destroying decibel levels and all intent on crashing with maximum loss of life into the nearest infants play school, I believe you get the idea.

Better diverting your efforts into locating the corporate sponsors of this proposal and exposing there plans to manipulate the local authority into selling them the land cheaply, why I will leave you too deliberate on.

Sadly the only defense the airfield may present is to generate a commercial alternative plan backed by historical protection schemes ring fenced by government legislation that would prevent development of the airfield for any other purpose than aviation.

In other words your out people find another home for your gliders and chalk this one up too ignorance exhibited by those who should have known years ago that this was going too happen.

[treadigraph]

Well, so far as I can see it's the same Extra performing fairly steep turns in a figure of 8, perhaps holding before landing or running in to the airfield for a sequence. They aren't what I would call aerobatics. I'd also say the engine is fairly well throttled back?

This is the area where she lives... (http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Spring+Coppice,+Lane+End&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=8.753781,18.830566&ie=UTF8&ll=51.616977,-0.810714&spn=0.01796,0.036778&t=h&z=15)

Perhaps Mrs Pratt should live where I do and suffer constant 24hr road traffic, police sirens, boom boxes and irresponsible motorcyclists with a penchant for high revs and no regard for the speed limit. She might come to treasure the odd 300hp Lycoming during daylight hours. :}

Incidently Cypherus Little old lady being pestered in her dotage - really? She looks rather young for her age and anything other than you describe!!:ok:

[Ken Wells]

Why doesn't the Pratt try and get the M40 closed at the same time.

Dementia is a sad thing!:mad:

[fade to grey]

Guys, this threat is becoming real - WDC is carrying out a study into whether it is worth locating wasps/wycombe wanderers there.....

I wonder if any organised resistance has occured yet ?

[johno1066]

It gets worse, They're stating that there's a delay because of the so called 'credit crunch'the'yre looking at moving off the existing business users and building a hotel too, many of the wartime buildings are being demolished; problem is, the covenants on the land won't allow them to build anything that's not aviation related, or that exceeds the height of existing buildings, thus the delay.

Credit crunch delays new stadium (From Bucks Free Press) (http://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/sport/4050583.Credit_crunch_delays_new_stadium/)

[johno1066]

Hmm, I guess the fact that the old Adams park site is now worth 1000,000 quid and acre doesn't have anything to do with the move then?

August 2007 - At a WWFC fans forum CEO Steve Hayes announces plans to build a new stadium in the High Wycombe area, with a capacity of 17,000 - 20,000 and to be the first UK stadium in modern times to have terracing. The new stadium would be joint owned by WWFC, London Wasps and Wycombe District Council. It will share a site with retail outlets, a hotel and conference facilities. Formal plans should be expected in 2 years, meaning if proceeded with the new complex would open in 2012.

April 2008 - The stadium land is taken out of the Green Belt by a Government inspector meaning the land value rises from £4,000 per acre to £1,000,000 per acre, giving a better resale value if required. It also allows additional stands, permanent or temporary, to be constructed to gain the 12,500 capacity required by London Wasps under Guinness Premiership regulations for the coming season. However, the main problem of access still remains, and until a new road is built, or the existing hillbottom road widened, speculation as to whether Wycombe Wanderers and Wasps will remain at Adams Park will continue to be rife.

[oversteer]

So the inference so far is that the "industrial" area around the airfield will be redeveloped into a stadium, with the airfield itself remaining in use? How will this affect BAFC, BGC etc, are their buildings in the "industrial" area or part of the airfield?

[johno1066]

By "Industrial area" I presume you mean the small business area currently on the site, the nearest industrial area is cressex, the hotel is to be built on the airpark itself and the stadium within the boundary. close to the M40. The two will not be able to co-exist in current form, notwithstanding the planning limitations, a 20,000 seater stadium is likely to encourage more birds for a start and is also subsequently likely to infringe on the licensing conditions, need to confirm with CAP168.

Once greenbelt has been built on to this extent,it is likely that the classification will change, the price of the land would increase considerably then the likelyhood is that further building will ensue, the end of the airfield would be merely a matter of time.

[timmyorc]

Seen this? Pushing up the rent from 42k pa to 676k pa. Maybe JohnO is right and there's an agenda to close Booker down.

Seems they're in dispute about it and it's going to High Court, but it doesn't look good.

[Genghis the Engineer]

I find it curious to read this, not because I don't think that Booker is an important place work preserving; but, as a regular flyer from there, I don't see or hear any kind of local pressure either for or against the place beyond an occasional letter in the local paper.

On the other hand, Wycombe has a population of about 92,000 - of whom most (plus the local villages) get fairly regularly overflown from Booker. Of that population a grand total of 100 - under 0.1%, can get worked up enough to join Ms Pratt's action group (and I'll bet that few of them do more than sign their name occasionally). Not exactly a huge popular motion against the airfield.

I think that we need to be good neighbours, and keep an eye on threatening commercial interests, but Wycombe Wanderer's desire for a new ground is far more threat than a tiny number of local protestors. And even then, looking at a map here (http://www.multimap.com/maps/?lat=51.630556&lon=-0.800278&zoom=11#map=51.63056,-0.80028|16|4&dp=os&bd=useful_information) maybe a financially beneficial swap is in order? Looks like you could put about 1000m on 24/08 along the site of Adams Park, with hangars on the site of the current football ground?

A hotel on the side of Booker might well be a good thing anyhow?

G

[timmyorc]

If Booker moved to Adams Park I'd guess it would be more of a westerly strip than 24/08, otherwise it wouldn't be an easy climb-out. What about the proximity to Sands, though? Would the planners allow it?

Might get away for it for fixed wing but I'd have thought curtains for the helis.

[johno1066]

Unfortunately,it's in a valley, itwould happenbesides, why should the airfield have to move?

[vintagemember]

I see Mrs Pratt has yet to gather any comment on her Youtube videos. Is it time to start the offensive? The video shows an aeroplane flying, not very low, near what I imagine is her house. Wow.

[chevvron]

Maybe Mrs Pratt should be encouraged to move to Witney (Pratt/Whitney - get it?
And Booker was first developed as Marlow Municpal Airport in the early 30s, not in 1939, so maybe Marlow council would support it. Years ago, the editor of the local Marlow paper was the last CO of the EFTS at Booker; he actually closed the school in the early 50s but the airfield remained RAF as Bomber Command HQ (Knaphill) and Signals Command HQ (Medmenham) were nearby.

[timmyorc]

New stuff on this. Local rag (Bucks Free Press) report the Council have decided to fund building a new footie/rugby stadium on the site.

Not clear whether it will be alongside the existing facilities or replacing them entirely but at a minimum it looks like the current activity will be much reduced.

Seems also there's been a big falling-out with the Council over the rent. All with the lawyers, but seems management have made enemies of the Council over it.

Current lease ends 2014; future looks bleak.

[gpn01]

Latest update is that Wycombe District Council is going through a public consultation exercise...

Stadium public consultation given thumbs up (From Bucks Free Press) (http://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/news/localnews/highwycombe/8378814.Stadium_public_consultation_given_thumbs_up/)

Now down to three possible sites (of which keeping the original Adams Park site is one).

Council didn't help itself when it responded to a FOI request for a copy of the information about the proposed stadium from the local newspaper and excluded a technical report. Nor was it helped when a section of the covenant document for the airfield transfer from the MoD to the Council was blacked out....but a direct FOI request to the MoD provided an unabridged copy!

Wycombe District Council apologises over stadium documents (From Bucks Free Press) (http://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/news/politics/8296691.Council_apologises_over_stadium_documents/)

[notobooker]

It's good to see more opposition to the stadium plans here. It might interest you to know that it's not just pilots against these plans either. There's a gathering momentum of dissenting voices from all corners including Wycombe fans, Wasps fans, pilots, Booker residents and of course taxpayers who don't believe their money should be used to make one wealthy man even more wealthy.

For more information or event to get involved in campaigning see these sites...

NO TO BOOKER - No To Booker (http://notobooker.com)
No Stadium At Booker (http://nostadiumatbooker.org.uk)
http://www.notbackingbooker.com

Many thanks.

[gpn01]

Latest documentation from Council (obtained following an FoI request) shows that the Council is considering opening the airfield on non-matchdays only. On matchdays the runway (doesn't specify whether it's hard or grass) would be used to provide car parking for up to 1,000 cars.