Thurleigh Airfield (Hansard, 15 May 1991)

§ Sir Trevor Skeet
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what price has been placed on the airfield at Thurleigh; when the site will be offered for sale; and what rate of return he expects to secure from its disposal.

§ Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
It is not our normal practice to disclose commercially sensitive information about valuations and prospective returns from the disposal of surplus defence land. Our aim is to offer the RAE Bedford airfield site for disposal as soon as possible.

§ Sir Trevor Skeet
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what time will be required to complete the removal of facilities and equipment from Thurleigh airfield to Boscombe Down.

§ Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
The precise timetable for the relocation of facilities and equipment from the RAE Bedford airfield site will emerge only from the detailed planning now being set in hand. Our aim is to move expeditiously; but this will still take a number of years to complete.

§ Sir Trevor Skeet
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence of the totality of land held at Thurleigh airfield, Bedfordshire, what acreage will continue to be held by his Department and agencies and what will be available for disposal, following his recent decision on the future of the airfield.

§ Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
We intend to offer for disposal the RAE Bedford airfield site in its entirety save for a small enclave which we envisage will be retained to house a simulator facility.

§ Sir Trevor Skeet
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he intends to retain the freehold of Thurleigh airfield and grant leases to potential buyers.

§ Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
It is our normal practice to dispose of the freehold of sites for which we no longer have a defence requirement.

§ Sir Trevor Skeet
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how he proposes to balance the return on investment at the Thurleigh airfield with the environmental considerations of the residents of north Bedfordshire.
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§ Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
We intend to follow the normal planning procedures in disposing of the RAE Bedford airfield. In so doing, the intention would be to agree an appropriate planning brief with the local planning authorities concerned. This will take due account of relevant environmental issues.

§ Sir Trevor Skeet
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what scale of development of a commercial, non-passenger airfield is envisaged in his preliminary assessment for Thurleigh airfield.

§ Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
It would be premature at this stage to speculate about the possible scale of any development of the RAE Bedford airfield site as a commercial (non-passenger) airfield. This will emerge from the detailed work now being set in hand, including consultation with the local planning authorities concerned.

§ Sir Trevor Skeet
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current written down value of Thurleigh airfield.

§ Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
Our valuation of the RAE Bedford airfield site is commercial-in-confidence.

§ Sir Trevor Skeet
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he proposes to dispose of any part of the Thurleigh airfield(a) for agricultural purposes, (b) for industrial and commercial use, (c) for housing and (d) as a recreational park.

§ Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
No decisions have been made on future uses for the RAE Bedford airfield site. We have already indicated our preliminary assessment of a commercial flying option; we now intend to explore this and other possible uses in more detail with the local planning authorities concerned.

§ Sir Trevor Skeet
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he proposes to dispose of the Thurleigh airfield site as a single operation or in a number of separate parcels.

§ Mr. Kenneth Carlisle
The precise nature of the disposal will emerge from the detailed work now being put in hand, including consultation with the local planning authorities concerned but our current view is that a fragmented disposal should be avoided if possible.