Classic plane pilots oppose ageing hangar's closure

Pilots who keep their planes in a 100-year-old hangar where lumps of metal fall from the roof have said they are unhappy it has been closed down.

Fareham Borough Council is set to replace the ageing plane storage hangars at Solent Airport with 12 new PVC units predicted to last 11 years each.

The concrete hangars were unsafe and "beyond their useful life", members of the council's executive meeting were told.

But pilots storing their small classic planes there said they were happy to take the risk and would sign a waiver to do so.

Speaking at the meeting Dr Gareth Owenson, who keeps his classic aircraft inside the structure, said there was more danger to his plane from rust by keeping it outside in damp sea air than from falling debris.

Such damage is covered by insurance while the damage from rust is not. Protecting a plane against corrosion could cost in the region of £7,000, the meeting heard.

Council leader Simon Martin said it would be negligent of the council to allow people to keep their planes there, saying they had been forced to decommission the Bellman 4 hangar because of the falling metal.

He said pilots were told Bellman 4 needed to be decommissioned with immediate effect and were given three months to find alternative storage.

He added that it was too expensive to rebuild concrete hangars.

The project is estimated to cost £390,000 and will be paid for through borrowing.

The PVC hangars will be manufactured in Hampshire with parts sourced in the UK, the meeting was told.

Planning permission is set to be sought for the project.

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