BAe Woodford

BAe Woodford Introduction:

Aircraft production at the BAe Woodford site has been declining for several years and it has been accelerated by the Government's recent spending reviews. The BAe Woodford site was finally closed in March 2011 and BAe Systems Woodford has been working closely with Stockport and Cheshire East Councils to plan the future redevelopment of the BAe Woodford site.

Adlington Park is located at the Poynton end of the existing runway. It is a mixed business use estate comprising Offices, Warehouses and Industrial units. There are still some development opportunities on the estate. These will be enhanced by the redevelopment of the BAe Woodford site, the proposed SEMMMS Route and associated Poynton Bypass.

BAe Woodford History:

The Avro aircraft company of Manchester established the airfield at Woodford in 1924. From the mid 1930s the Aerodrome expanded rapidly, initially building thousands of Avro Ansons, and from 1941 Lancaster bombers. In 1951 the airfield was extended to the east in order to accommodate the Avro Vulcan, a revolutionary delta-wing jet bomber and a key part of the UK's Cold War nuclear deterrent. Other aircraft built at BAe Woodford included the BAE 146 airliner, the Avro 748, the ATP regional jet and most recently the Nimrod MRA4 reconnaissance aircraft.

Today, aircraft manufacturing at BAe Woodford site has ceased. There are 205ha of land, containing almost 150,000m2 (1.6 million ft2) of floor space that stands largely vacant and disused.

In planning and development terms, the BAe Woodford site is in the Green Belt which defines the southern edge of the Stockport and Greater Manchester conurbation. The two main developed parts of the airfield, covering 42.1ha, are classified as 'Major Existing Developed Sites' in the Green Belt (MEDS) .

BAe Woodford and the Future:

A lot of background work has been carried out by the Stockport and Cheshire East Councils, BAE Systems Woodfood and their consultants. It is clear that the BAe Woodford site is a major opportunity, with a range of potential future uses and forms of development.

Development of the BAe Woodford site is likely to extend over the next 10 to 15 years, so it will be important for the development plans to be flexible to respond to future conditions. It is also clear that because of its size and location, its future development will have a significant impact on the surrounding area. This will most obviously be of concern to communities close to the site - particularly Woodford, Bramhall and Poynton. Its development also potentially impacts on a wider area of Stockport and North East Cheshire. Stockport and Cheshire East Councils and BAe Systems Woodford are committed to involving local people in the decision-making process for the future of the BAe Woodford site.

In planning the future of the BAe Woodford site, opportunities will be created to bring significant benefits to local people, both present and future communities - for example, by improved facilities such as employment, schools, shops, leisure and health, by improved local transport networks, by increasing housing range and choice, and by improved access to open countryside.

Redevelopment of the site creates an opportunity to create a highly sustainable form of development. This will include aspects such as transport, healthy lifestyles, access to a safe and attractive green space network, walking and cycling, energy efficiency and low carbon design and construction, water, drainage and waste minimisation, reducing the impact of extreme weather and encouraging local food production.

BAe Woodford Planning:

BAe Woodford Aerodrome forms part of the Green Belt and is therefore subject to specific planning policies. National Green Belt policy recognises major developed sites such as Woodford Aerodrome that were developed before Green Belt designations were made. These policies allow for the redevelopment of BAe Woodford Aerodrome.

Stockport LDF Core Strategy - Due to the closure of the BAe Woodford Aerodrome, the site has been identified as an 'Opportunity Site'. A mixed-use development of primarily residential and employment uses are considered most appropriate for the site. The Core Strategy was considered sound by an Independent Planning Inspector in February 2011 after an Examination. The intention to produce a Supplementary Plan Document was considered a sensible and sound way forward for delivering the future of this important Green Belt Site.

Cheshire East - The current development plan for the site is the Macclesfield Local Plan (2004). Green Belt covers all the site except for the BAe Woodford building on the northern edge of the Adlington Industrial Estate. Cheshire East is in the early stages of preparing its Local Development Framework. A Place Shaping consultation will be carried out from July - September 2011 to look at the challenges and development options for each town or village. The outcomes of this consultation and the Design Workshops on the BAe Woodford Aerodrome site will feed into the plan for Poynton.

Supplementary Planning Document - In taking forward the BAe Woodford site, Stockport Council will produce a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) which will include a Masterplan for the BAe Woodford site. The SPD will consider a number of development principles including:

• Area of Development
• Sustainability
• Highways and Transport
• Future Use of the Runway
• Open Space
• Heritage Assets
• Potential Uses
• Unacceptable Uses

Key Transport Issues - The key transport isues for the BAe Woodford redevelopment are as follows:

• The BAe Woodford site has two existing vehicle access points onto Chester Road and 8 emergency access points.
• There are almost 1,500 existing car parking spaces on the BAe Woodford site.
• In 2001 when fully operational the BAe Woodford site generated more than 4,500 vehicle movements throughout the day. This has declined over the past 10 years.
• Shift working meant that peak flows for the site occurred between 7 and 8am (over 900 vehicle movements) and between 4 and 5pm (over 600 vehicle movements). During the normal 'rush hour' periods of 8 - 9am and 5 - 6pm traffic movements into and out of the BAe Woodford site were around 350.
• Existing bus routes serve the BAe Woodford site and surrounding area but currently provide low frequency services and limited opportunity for connections with rail services.
• Bramhall, Poynton, Wilmslow and Adlington stations provide regular services to the Manchester, Stockport and Macclesfield as well as access to other parts of the country.
• Existing traffic levels cause queuing and delays at some key locations on the local road network during peak travel periods.
• The historic use of the BAe Woodford site will be taken into account when determining the level of impact and measures to support future development options. These could include improvement to pedestrian, cycle and public transport provision and highway infrastructure.

BAe Woodford Programme:

BAE Systems Woodford have been working with Stockport Council and Cheshire East on developing the framework to guide the future redevelopment of the BAe Woodford site. The work streams are shown on this Work Stream Document.

BAe Woodford Timetable:

The indicative timetable for the redevelopment of the BAe Woodford site is shown on the Indicative Timetable document. This may be subject to change as the project evolves.

For further information about Commercial Land or Properties on Adlington Park then please Contact the BAe-Woodford.com Team Now!