WOODLEY residents are calling for one of its remaining links with its history to be saved from the axe, after a planning application was submitted to redevelop parts of the airfield site.
Under the plans, the Adwest site off Headley Road East would be demolished and replaced with newer industrial units.
Part of this site is an art deco building dating back to the 1930s, the last link to the Miles Aircraft Company. It was also home to the Miles Martin Pen Company, the first factory in the UK to create biro pens.
Since the application went live on Wokingham Borough Council’s planning website, residents have been uniting in a bid to see this building saved.
Polls on a number of social media pages show an overwhelming support for the building to be saved, even though it is not listed. And scores of comments have been uploaded to the council’s website, objecting to the plans.
One resident said it would be a sacrilege to pull the building down. “I am shocked that the developers are allowed to pull down a historically important building, the last link to Woodley’s aero engineering heritage.”
Residents’ concerns also include the new larger industrial buildings backing on to nearby housing, additional traffic concerns and noise and light pollution.
These views were shared by Bulmershe and Whitegates ward councillor Shirley Boyt (Lab), who said that residents were concerned over the amount of lorries that the application could generate if passed, as well as the loss of the art deco building.
“I think there is a case (for saving it). It is the last remaining building from the old Woodley aerodrome days,” she added. “The Miles aircraft factory was very, very important in aviation because they built aircraft there, ran an RAF training school during the Second World War, and so on.”
Cllr Boyt said that she asked borough council’s planning department if they had prepared a heritage impact statement for the work, but was told that it was not necessary, and they would instead consult its conservation and urban design officer.
“The buildings might not be up to modern standards, but this frontage could be saved, or they could turn the space into an art gallery with some history of the Woodley aerodrome. Woodley hasn’t got much in the way of amenities for the size of it. Something like this could be made to be a great thing.”
Woodley Town Council leader Cllr Keith Baker (Con), was also keen to save the building if possible.
He said: “I think every opportunity needs to be taken to try and protect the heritage of Woodley with respect to the aircraft industry. The town council’s planning committee will be looking at it.
“There is a fine balance between protecting our heritage and allowing appropriate change.”
Another person who wanted to save the buildings was Julian Temple, who has written the definitive history of airfield, Wings Over Woodley. It charts the story of the entire site including the buildings. He also helped in the creation of the Museum of Berkshire Aviation. He is now an aviation heritage consultant.
“There are a lot of aircraft enthusiasts would like to see some of that site preserved, ideally the front office building to be retained even if it could not be officially listed.
“If demolition does go ahead, there will be nothing physically left of the old airfield. There’s not even a memorial or a plaque or anything, apart from the museum on the southern boundary of what was the airfield.”
He felt that keeping the art deco buildings would mean that Woodley residents would have a living monument to the town’s history.
“They certainly contributed a huge amount to the war efforts by a providing a large number of aircraft that the RAF desperately needed,” he said. “When the war started, a lot of pilots were trained here.”
Mr Temple was unsurprised at the level of support the campaigns, which are in their infancy, have received. “It’s gratifying there is public interest and support,” he added.
Cllr Boyt added a message to the developers: “Listen to the residents. Go back to the site, look into it and come up with a proposal for saving this building for alternative use, and recognise its importance to the community.”
