14th / 15th FEBRUARY 2006 at 9.00am
PLEASE KEEP IT FREE

It has been quite a while since anything important has happened in connection with the campaign to save North Weald Airfield hence you have not heard much from us. However rest assured we have been chipping away behind the scenes keeping an eye on things as they develop.

However that is all about to change because the hearing at the EiP (Enquiry in Public) is approaching fast and the matters relating to the airfield are due to be heard on 14th and 15th February in Letchworth. This will be the most important event to date when the Inspector will make his decisions as to whether or not North Weald Airfield is to be kept included within the RSS14 report and hence recommended as a site for housing.

We have taken the decision to appoint Peter Williams of Kember Loudon Williams (planning consultants) to act with us and on our behalf at the enquiry. Peter Kember has a lot of experience in planning connected to airfields and we feel him to be the best man for the job. This does of course come with a cost attached and your donations made over the last 2 years will be contributing towards that although this does leave a shortage that needs to be addressed.

1) The EiP (Enquiry in Public) is an important event and it is vital that the inspector sees for himself the extent of the support for the Airfield. The meeting is held in public and we need to get as many supporters as possible in the public gallery. Please will you attend the meeting in Letchworth (Hertfordshire) on the 14th and/or 15th February to show the strength of support. We cannot state too much the importance of your presence at this meeting. The airfield has one chance at this and the public gallery needs to be filled.

2) We need to raise a further £4000 to meet the consultants fees and campaign expenses. At our last appeal we received very generous donations from supporters all round the world and we need to repeat this generosity to pay for the services that have a chance to save the airfield. Please, the campaign needs more money and we ask everyone to contribute wherever they feel they are able to.

3) We need to increase the airfields supporters database even further. Can everyone pass on the website address www.northwealdairfield.org to everyone in their contacts list who will be prepared to register on the website and at some stage to write the odd letter of support for the airfield. The Airfield is our heritage and what we achieve now will be our legacy for future generations - so even those not directly using the airfield on a daily basis we feel it is everyone’s responsibility to help preserve our history and heritage before it is built on and lost forever.

The North Weald Parish Council are laying on buses to run from North Weald Village to the EiP in Letchworth on the 14th and 15th Feb. If anyone wants to reserve a place on the bus please just email back and I will arrange that for you or call the parish clerk directly on 01992 534825

For those who wish to travel direct to the EiP the address is:-

Spirella Ballroom,
Bridge Road,
Letchworth,
SG6 4ET

For those wishing to make a contribution to the campaign please send cheques to :-

NORTH WEALD AIRFIELD USERS GROUP
C/O The Squadron
North Weald Airfield
North Weald
Nr. Epping
Essex
CM16 6AA

And make cheques payable to:- “North Weald Airfield Users Group” and write your name & email address on the reverse of the cheque. Thanks.

Finally a thank you to everyone who lodged objections to the enquiry. We managed to get 6500 objections lodged which represented one quarter of the total objections received for the entire matter 8h for the region. Well done and thanks. If we keep the pressure on we have a good chance of convincing the inspector at the EiP that the airfield must not be built on.

We look forward to seeing you at the EiP on the 14th / 15th February. Please make every effort to attend if you can.

Thank you