Marshalls moving, Cambridge to be redeveloped

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15 years 2 months

Posts: 674

Been on the cards for a long time but announced today. https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/cambridge-airport-close-relocate-marshalls-16273168?fbclid=IwAR2P71xE0avIeUT7wm3PULe-t0K-rHDCn--U3MA4fJ7meWu20kok8U9mVXg
One very interesting line is 'Family business, Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group, has said it is considering three potential new locations: Cranfield, Duxford and Wyton.' Surely Duxford is a non runner as it totally lacks space and the runway is too short for heavies?? Plus it would completely spoil the place

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Member for

9 years 7 months

Posts: 95

This is the second time that there has been talk of Marshall moving away from Cambridge. It must be ten years or more that they said they were thinking of going to Mildenhall, Duxford or Wyton. Both the 'hall and Duxford would require traffic lights for crossing of roads so that aircraft could go from hangers to airfield. Not very practical on the A505 at Duxford which is overloaded most of the day. Wyton was mentioned at that time but it is still destined for loads of houses according to the local plan. As for keeping the staff, most live to the north and east of Cambridge. I doubt if they would want to travel to Cranfield. As Marshall has now got a property development division, it would be a win-win situation for them.

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20 years

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Cranfield is apparently 'on' for some big improvements including resurfacing the runway so if you have a new FBO coming in that might explain it :)

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18 years 10 months

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When I saw Dx listed I assumed they were going to buy land & build South of the runway.

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24 years 2 months

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One way to stop the naughty field!

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16 years 3 months

Posts: 1,813

Any reason why Alconbury is not on the list???

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21 years

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When I saw Dx listed I assumed they were going to buy land & build South of the runway.

With the rising ground to the south, I think that's unlikely in terms of cost to build.....

However, my first thought was buying to the west of the boundary and building and thus extending the runway in length to the west, which would also allow the display centre to be moved further away from the M11 etc.

I do agree though with the other poster, in that it would totally ruin the place though.

If it is Cranfield though, their staff will be pissed off, or looking for new jobs with that extra commute.

Member for

19 years

Posts: 2,106

When I saw Dx listed I assumed they were going to buy land & build South of the runway.

Well if they did that would pretty much end Airshows at Duxford so lets hope they don't !!

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19 years

Posts: 1,177

This crops up every decade. Marshalls bang the drum of "yes of course we want to build housing for you and get rid of this noisy smelly airport, we just need to sort out some details..." and then there's a flashy model of the airport goes on display with houses and the runway turned into "aviation way" or some-such. Then everyone goes "Hooray, good old Marshalls they're great for Cambridge and the environment and brownfield regeneration" then it all goes quiet and nothing happens and they stop getting hassled for a few more years. As Rutley says, Mildenhall was on the cards last time as well but then that closing down seems to have gone quiet again as well. As to Alconbury, when it was originally deactivated Fed-Ex were strongly in the running to build an airport freight hub there. With good road and possible rail links as well as a heavy aircraft capable runway it would have been an ideal centre of distribution and employment. However it is suggested that a local MP and ex- PM wasn't in favour of it being on his doorstep and within his constituency and rallied a strong opposition as there had been no flying for about three years at that point and a lot of residential development had taken place with new residents that never knew it when the TR1s, A10s, F16s, F5s, Phantoms etc were in residence in significant numbers. Now its a Container interchange and light industrial park...

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19 years 3 months

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Most/some parts of the airfield at Alconbury is/or has slowly been built on. Or is still used for storage

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9 years 7 months

Posts: 95

The location at Duxford would be on the north side of the A505, west of the housing and opposite the western end gate beyond Land Warfare. All buildings would be on a green field site with a taxiway across the A505. At that time, I saw a plan of this and it did not look good. Mildenhall had the same problem with the proposed site being south of the airfield and another taxiway access. Marshall are spending a lot of money at Cambridge having two of the oldest hangers reclad and also building a new state of the art engine running bay. The C130s have an end of service date that is very close to their proposed leaving date of 2030. Many years ago, a previous managing director spoke of the company becoming "design based" and relocating to an office block type of premises. Perhaps this is what they are planning for?

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21 years

Posts: 2,108

Just how many new houses do they need in Cambridge, and where are all these people going to work?
With planning permission for Oakington already in place, and plus a few days ago, the planners granted permission to build 6,500 homes on the airfield at Waterbeach as well.

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16 years 5 months

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Probably just a coincidence - but a farmer whose land is at the western end of Dx had a large sale of farm machinery a couple of months back.

Member for

9 years 7 months

Posts: 95

It may be that the farmer is retiring, nothing more. In 2005, after discussions with South Cambridgeshire District Council, Imperial War Museum Duxford and Cambridge Horizons, Marshall removed Duxford from it's list of possible new locations. Yesterday's announcement including Duxford again is more likely to be a red herring.

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18 years 10 months

Posts: 963

I think the DUX options, as looked at previously included land to the North and West of the site and possible rerouting of the A505 around it.

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9 years 7 months

Posts: 95

The A505 "bypass" idea was thrown out but I hear that it may now be back on the cards along with long term plans to build houses behind the north side of the IWM site. It would make it easier for Marshall to move there but they would not be able to operate commercial flights or have large aircraft in for the paint shop due to runway length. And if the houses do appear, I would imagine that Marshall and the IWM would end altogether.......

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11 years 6 months

Posts: 259

could Scampton be a viable alternative?

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18 years 10 months

Posts: 963

could Scampton be a viable alternative?

If you read the associated documentation they seem to be suggesting that they'd like to (and of course it makes perfect commercial sense to) keep their existing staff. Given it's over 100 miles between Cambridge and Scampton I think you have your answer.

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15 years 7 months

Posts: 674

Assuming the draw down of USAF forces at Mildenhall continues, HC-130J and MV-22 to Europe and KC-135 and RC-135 to Fairford, dates vary but 2027 seems a often quoted date. Then time scale for the return of USAF operation to MOD and subsequent sale or lease to Marshalls would seem to be a convenient coincidence. It would appear to tick all the boxes, long runway, existing hangars, large parking /storage ramps and ample room for expansion. Probably the two most important factors are Mildenhall is close enough to transfer existing staff and it is probably the only place in the country where the locals are happy to live near an airfield. Many already work on the base as civilian contractors and will appreciate the employment. With the right planning and incentives Mildenhall could become an important part of the UK aviation scene.

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16 years 9 months

Posts: 1,011

Sounds good CADman! Mildenhall makes sense. The thought of that scale of development around Duxford is frankly horrifying! Will be interesting to see how this pans out.