Hampshire County Council
Defence Heritage and Tourism Panel
Item
30 November 1999
HMS Daedalus, Lee-on-the-Solent
Report by the Director of Property, Business and Regulatory
Services
Contact: Roderick Jackson Ext: 6620
1. Summary
1.1 This report is to inform the Panel of the current position and
marketing of this former Royal Naval Air Station, the decision
by Gosport Borough Council to designate part as a conservation
area and the study being undertaken by English Heritage.
2. Present Position
2.1 HMS Daedalus changed from the training of aircrew to the
training of air engineering officers and ratings and moved to a
new location within HMS Sultan at Gosport on 1 April 1996. The
site has remained vacant and surplus and it was only last month
that the Ministry of Defence began actively marketing the built
part of the establishment. Expressions of interest are sought
for this by 3 December. The airfield is not included in the
current marketing.
2.2 As part of the preparations for disposal the 'Daedalus
Development Strategy' was prepared jointly by the County
Council, Gosport and Fareham Borough Councils and the Ministry
of Defence, the County Council's Planning and Transportation
Committee in September 1997 approved the strategy document.
The broad aims are that the release of the site at Daedalus
provides a key opportunity to meet local housing, employment
and recreational needs without compromising existing gap and
countryside policies. The plan seeks to safeguard the
character of the site and proposes the retention and reuse of
historically important buildings
3. History of the Site
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3.1 Royal Naval Air Station Lee on Solent opened in July 1917 as a
Seaplane Training School, as an extension to Calshot.
Initially 30 acres of land was requisitioned including a number
of mainly Victorian houses. Progressive enlargement led to the
current site which totals nearly 500 acres of which 100 acres
is covered with buildings, the remaining 400 acres is airfield.
3.2 While the site was being developed as a permanent station and
the slipway constructed, the administration changed to Royal
Air Force control. Training continued through the 1920's under
the RAF Fleet Air Arm. In 1931 the first grass airstrip was
constructed and Lee on Solent became HQ Coastal Area followed
by a major building programme which included The Wardroom. With
the expansion of the RAF during the 1930's Parliament decided
that the Fleet Air Arm should transfer to the Admiralty and the
site was re-named HMS Daedalus in 1939. The wartime expansion
included the present runways built in 1941 - 1942. HMS
Daedalus made a major contribution to the D-Day landings. The
Joint Service Hovercraft Unit was formed here in 1962.
3.3 Ross House, originally named Beachcroft and built in 1898 was
incorporated into the base in the 1930's and used as the
Captain's House. This prominent and imposing Victorian villa
fronting Marine Parade was sold by the Ministry of Defence in
1996/7 and demolished in September this year. No planning
consent for a replacement development has been submitted. The
loss of this building has increased the desire to ensure that
the remaining historical buildings on the site are given
protection
4. Conservation Measures
4.1 While Bicester and Duxford are excellent examples of RAF
stations the site at HMS Daedalus is the most complete
surviving example of a seaplane base in Britain. In particular,
the range of domestic architecture, reflecting the changing
requirements of aviation communities is regarded as better than
any other military airbase in the country. The group of
aircraft hangars around the slipway constructed at the
beginning of the First World War are among the most
significant of their period.
4.2 The measures available include listing individual buildings and
the creation of a conservation area. Both of these measures
have been pursued. English Heritage have completed a survey of
the site as part of the national thematic survey of airfields
and have indicated that the local authorities will be consulted
on their recommendations early next year with any listing being
announced in summer 2000. Current expectations are that the
important buildings already referred to in the development
strategy and possibly others are likely to be listed.
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4.3 This Panel visited Daedalus in September and expressed concern
that the site could be marketed without any protection for this
historic area and its buildings. Following a joint officer
inspection of the site and written support from the County
Council, Gosport Borough Council, which had also expressed
similar concerns at a meeting of its Planning Committee on 8
November formally designated part of the site a Conservation
Area. The attached plan indicates the extent of this.
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5. Airfield
5.1 This is the only Hampshire airfield with hard runways outside
the north of the county except the international airport at
Southampton. The airfield has been the base for the Coastguard
Search and Rescue Service since 1973 and for the Hampshire
Police Air Support Unit since 1985. Currently the airfield is
held on short term lease by Hampshire Police pending a decision
by the Ministry of Defence on its disposal. The site is
underlain with deposits of gravel and was removed from the
list of preferred extraction sites following the
recommendations of the inspector at the 1995 Public Inquiry
into the Hampshire Minerals and Waste Local Plan.
5.2 The County Council together with the Gosport and Fareham
Councils and the Ministry of Defence have jointly commissioned
a feasibility study into the commercial prospects for the
airfield. The outcome of this in common with earlier studies
confirms the strong belief that the airfield is capable of
providing considerable benefits for the local economy and
offering excellent facilities for general aviation. There is
support locally for it to remain in use and the Fareham Local
Plan refers to this as being of strategic importance to South
East Hampshire.
Recommendations
1. That the Panel very much welcomes the recent action taken by
Gosport Borough Council to designate an important part of the
former HMS Daedalus site a conservation area.
2. That a letter be sent to English Heritage in support of their
study into the historical importance of the buildings.
3. That the Ministry of Defence be urged to maintain close
consultation with the local authorities over the disposal and
future uses of the whole site.
DHT003H99
14:04:20
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