A UK airport has closed for good after 95 years to make may for thousands of homes – despite fears the area is “contaminated”.
The privately-run airport shut on June 6 after a developer served notice on the operator of the site.
The Vistry Group, which owns Tollerton Airfield In Nottingham, plans to build 1,600 homes and a school at the site.
Home to Nottingham City Airport and a number of other businesses, the site also provides a landing zone for the air ambulance.
Vistry served notice on operator Truman Aviation to vacate the site, but said it would continue to provide a landing zone for the air ambulance during the initial phase of development.
The site’s closure follows a year-long battle from campaigners against Vistry.
Campaigners believe that more than 1,200 aircraft containing radioactive materials were burnt and buried at the ex-RAF base leading to contamination.
Concerns were raised after campaigners found evidence that the ex-RAF base in Nottinghamshire had been used after the Second World War to dismantle hundreds of Lancaster Bombers and other aircraft that contained glow-in-the-dark dials made out of radium -226.
Site owner Brian Wells, who was sent notice to vacate the area in March, previously said developers were “determined to have everywhere shut down for when they came to planning”.
“We agreed we’d have two to five years here before they would take over,” he told NottinghamshireLive. “They even suggested they could keep one runway open for us.
“But the main board of developers say they’ve had enough of all these people protesting and decided to shut it down sooner rather than later.”
He added that “it’s very sad” how things have developed much quicker than hoped for, and said the closure will mean “numerous redundancies”.
The airfield dates back to the 20th century, when it was home to several flying clubs, and then as a commercial airport until the late 1940s.
During World War 2 it was acquired by the Air Ministry and became RAF Tollerton.
What would happen if the site is contaminated?
Campaigners for the airport have referred to other cases where ex-RAF airfields like Tollerton were used as “burn, bash, and bury” sites and then deemed potentially hazardous.
If the grounds were disturbed, an extensive clean-up process would have to be done.
An example of this is Dalgety Bay, Fife, Scotland, a stretch of coastline used for the same purposes as Tollerton AIrfield.
Traces of radium-226 found in the ground required a two-year clean-up project at the site. Other examples include RAF Newton, RAF Carlisle and RAF Kinloss.
A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: “Our Environment Agency officers advised Rushcliffe Borough Council (the planning authority) in May 2024 that a condition of planning permission is that developers have a plan in place to identify and deal with the risks associated with potential contaminants.
“In addition, we have advised that the site will need to be assessed for potential contaminants at routine stages as the development progresses.”
Rushcliffe Borough Council has confirmed applications for the site include initial land contamination assessments.
A spokesperson for Rushcliffe Borough Council said: “We are aware of the previous uses of the wider site, including the airfield and the potential for land contamination associated with these uses.
“Both current applications for the site include initial land contamination assessments”.
