Decision delay at former RAF site
CONSULTATION ON NEW HOMES POSTPONED
CONSULTATION on proposals for 360 homes next to a former Driffield RAF base bombed during the Second World War has been extended.
East Riding Council has pushed back the closing date for its consultation on the Alamein Barracks Masterplan, for land next to what was RAF Driffield, to Monday, December 7.
The council said in a statement coronavirus had meant meetings could not be held for the consultation with residents instead able to view and comment on the plans online.
Draft plans buildings on and stated next to military the site were of “historical significance” and key for the RAF in the Second World War.
Cadets still use parts of Alamein Barracks for training and the Army uses land close to the site for driving lessons. The draft plans stated: “Alamein Barracks was first constructed in 1918 and was a key Royal Air Force location during World War Two.”
The base was originally built as RAF Eastburn and was service from 1918 until 1920.
It was rebuilt and reopened in 1936 as RAF Driffield to train bomber crews.
The base was bombed during the Battle of Britain and the first Women’s Royal Air Force service member to be killed in the war died during a raid there.
Bombing sorties were flown from the base during the early 1940s. RAF Driffield was later armed with Us-made PGM-17 Thor ballistic missiles during the Cold War in 1959.
The weapons, capable carrying nuclear warheads, decommissioned in 1963.
The base was turned over to the British Army in 1977. It was renamed Alamein Barracks first in of were and used as a driving school.
It was then a satellite of the Defence School of Transport at Leconfield before the Ministry of Defence sold the majority of its land there in 2007.
Four hangars next to the airfield are now home to factories and workshops.
The council’s masterplan stated the DFR-I allocation, the 360 homes earmarked for land next to the Barracks, was key for housing under its overall draft East Riding Local Plan. Draft plans from the council cover transport and access to the site should it be built on, as well as ecology, heritage and community facilities.
If the council adopts the masterplan it will be referred to applications to build on the site.