Salisbury city council committee issues statement on airfield hangar

Hangar 3 at Old Sarum Airfield collapsed overnight on Sunday as Storm Isha battered Salisbury with strong winds and heavy rain. 

The committee unanimously approved a statement during its meeting on Tuesday, January 24, labelling the collapse of the First World War hangar a “disaster”.

The committee’s statement read in full: “The collapse of Hangar 3 at Old Sarum Airfield is a disaster long predicted by those who have been campaigning to save this Grade II* listed wartime survivor. Our heritage protection systems have failed abjectly in their duty to ensure its preservation despite years of pleading by aviation enthusiasts such as the group SOS - Save Old Sarum.

"Legal action must be taken to salvage and restore it. And on no account must what remains of this historic airfield be swallowed up by housing development.”

The committee’s statement follows shortly after Historic England expressed its own disappointment at the collapse of the historic building, in which they said the hangar is one of three at Old Sarum Airfield that are “highly unusual survivors from the early days of aerial combat”.

Grenville Hodge, managing director of Old Sarum Airfield, said: “We are very disappointed that further damage has been caused to the hangar by the very severe storm Isha.

"We have plans to completely restore the hangar as part of a much wider plan for the airfield which is subject to a planning application currently with Wiltshire Council that we are keen to get positively determined as soon as possible."

A planning application for approximately 315 homes, plus a control tower, heritage centre, visitor centre, café/restaurant, parachute centre, aviation archives and aircraft hangars, are currently under consultation for the area. 

Wiltshire Council and Historic England has also issued statements on the damage, which can be found here.