Not good news at all for Wellesbourne residents

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Member for

11 years 6 months

Posts: 259

This is good news indeed :-)

Meddle, going back to the land contamination, it is common practice in cases which such contaminated land that the top layers of soils are removed. The ground is then covered with a membrane and imported topsoil brought in. The dwellings will also have specialist membranes within their ground floor structure which run continuously across the wall cavities, to prevent pollutants rising through the fabric of the building. When it comes to any development, including extensions in wooded or countryside locations, a phase one environmental survey (desk top assessment and walk over survey) would be undertaken to establish the presence, or not, of any protected species on the site. With such a major development, a more extensive survey would be undertaken and any mitigation would be pretty substantial. Other considerations would be infrastructure (inc. schools, transport, roads, shops etc.), environmental impact, impact on flooding potential and so on...

It won't just be the industrial areas that would be regarded as contaminated. The whole of the country is mapped out as a grid showing areas of contaminated ground and, the ground is often regarded as contaminated up to 400m from any industrial processes, be they current or historic.

It also doesn't need to be a brownfield site to require such protective building measures. Areas such as parts of Devon and Cornwall have significant areas of granite, which is radioactive. Building here would require similar membranes to those above within dwellings and the probable use of a ventilation system below the ground floor slabs.

Anyway, returning from the slight drift, it looks like a definite step in the right direction from the Local Authority and, I wish all those involved in the retention of the airfield the best of luck. Hopefully progress will now continue to a positive outcome for you all.

Profile picture for user 1batfastard

Member for

11 years 2 months

Posts: 3,650

Hi All,
Fingers crossed looks like it's some good news about this working airfield at last, This below from the XM655 http://www.facebook.com/avrovulcanxm655 ......:eagerness:

11 March 2019 Press Release

Stratford News

[HR][/HR] Stratford-on-Avon District Council's Cabinet has today, Monday 11 March, approved a report giving authority to make, confirm and implement a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) to acquire Wellesbourne Mountford Airfield.
Cllr Lynda Organ, Resources and Property Portfolio says: "This is the next major milestone in the Compulsory Purchase Order process. Negotiations have been ongoing with the owners, which is all part of the CPO process, for the voluntary acquisition of the Order Land.
"However after today's decision the CPO will now run in parallel to the negotiations in order to guarantee acquisition of the land and safeguard its operational use. The Order Land is an important employment site, of which there is a shortage within the District, supporting a number of local jobs."
The District Council has been negotiating with the landowner about the possible voluntary sale of the land - a legal requirement before any CPO can be launched.
The District Council has also investigated how the airfield would be managed in the future and consortia that could operate the airfield in partnership with the District Council - providing a financial return - have already been identified.
The District Council's budget for the next financial year next year (2019/20) has approved funding to cover the legal costs associated with the Compulsory Purchase Order and support a key part of the District Council's adopted Core Strategy of committing to supporting aviation activity at Wellesbourne Airfield. Also in the recent budget consultation, 61% of respondents supported the District Council's proposals for Wellesbourne Airfield.
[HR][/HR]Contact details

Stratford-on-Avon District Council
Elizabeth House, Church Street,
Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire,
CV37 6HX
Tel: 01789 267575.

Geoff.