Plans for Avro Lancaster replica at Scampton could be grounded

A replica Avro Lancaster could come to RAF Scampton if redevelopment goes ahead – but plans have been thrown into doubt by the Home Office news.

Replica Aircraft Fabrications (RAF), which includes boss David Hobson and restoration enthusiast Martin Willoughby, had originally offered to bring their skills to Horizon Park’s plans for the site, but when that bid was rejected they began discussions with Scampton Holdings as part of West Lindsey’s £300 million investment proposals.

However, since the Home Office confirmed it was looking at the site to house 1,500 asylum seekers, potentially in shipping containers on the runway, the duo say talks have stalled.

Replica Aircraft Fabrications has provided craft including a Westland Lysander for the film Allied, a Spitfre Simulator for promotional use for the 2017 film Dunkirk.

It has also created pieces such as a P-51D for the Tuskegee National Historic site in Alabama, a replica l’Oiseu Blank for the Peninsula Paris Hotel, a Spitfire Mk.V to commemorate Robert Stanford Tuck along with F-35 and BAC Lighting replicas for BAE Salmesbury, in Preston.

Martin himself spent several years and hundreds of thousands of pounds building an AVRO Lancaster replica which now sits at the Avro Heritage Centre in Woodford.

Westland Lysander for the film ‘Allied’. Now on display at the Tangmere Aircraft Museum. | Image: Supplied.

Both David and Martin were at a public meeting on Monday which gave residents the chance to have their say on the future of RAF Scampton.

Following the meeting, Martin said: “Since the issue of the immigrants coming to Scampton has evolved everything’s gone quiet and there’s a very real risk this Dambuster Lancaster will fail.

“That would be an absolute tragedy because we’re approaching the 80th anniversary of the Dambusters which is very important local heritage to people around here and therefore its important that heritage is protected.

A P-51D replica in the Tuskegee National Historic Site in Alabama. | Image: Supplied

He said that there could also be opportunities for other planes to be installed on the site including a de Havilland Mosquito – the plane that Guy Gibson was killed in in September 1944.

He believed the build would be a “huge tourism draw” for the area and could feature as a centrepiece for the area.

A spitfire installed at Dumfries Museum. | Image: Supplied

Horizon Park representatives Richard Hale and Paul Molyneux were also at the meeting on Monday.

The pair have questioned the reasoning behind the decision and said the area would “miss out on a lost opportunity” for the area.

They asked what would happen if Scampton Holdings withdrew due to the Home Office plans and said they were “waiting in the wings” if the scheme failed.

West Lindsey District Council said it had a “really robust emerging planning policy” to guide future development should investors not be able to carry forward.

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