Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Work on new Leonardo runway project kicks off
WORK has begun on a major project to build a new runway at the Leonardo Helicopters airfield in Yeovil.
The company has said the work “demonstrates its continued investment in Yeovil”.
The Leonardo airfield is the largest grass runway in the UK at 1,386 metres long, taking up a large footprint in the west of Yeovil.
However, a new hard surface runway will soon be built in the middle of the grass airfield.
Work on the Yeovil Aerodrome Upgrade project started in July with construction beginning on a small new support building near to the planned runway. After this building has been built, work can then begin on the runway, although no start date has been revealed for the runway work.
A spokesman for Leonardo Helicopters said: “In July we passed a significant milestone on the Yeovil Aerodrome Upgrade project by making a meaningful start on the Airfield Ground Lighting support building.
“Dates on the next steps for the upgrade are currently under review.
This important project demonstrates the continued investment in the Yeovil site.”
At a public consultation in 2019, Leonardo spokesman Geoff Russell revealed the upgrade was not designed to encourage more aeroplanes to use the airfield.
Mr Russell said: “The runway will allow for small fixed wing aircraft to take off and land, but that will not be part of our day-to-day operations.
“It is not our intention to encourage fixed wing aircraft to the Leonardo airfield. There will be a very small number coming into the runway.
“The existing runway has not been up to standard for some time, and there are occasions when a short runway is needed during helicopter testing. The existing runway is uneven in places, so during this project we will be looking to level out the undulating ground.”
The runway project is not the only redevelopment project currently being undertaken at Leonardo Helicopters in Yeovil, as work continues on a new £28m logistics hub at West Hendford.
It covers the same area as 2.7 football pitches and is scheduled to be completed before the end of the year.