Panshanger runways being dug up

Panshanger Aerodrome is being destroyed by workmen digging trenches across the grass runway. Onlookers have been told it is an ‘architectural dig’.

However, Colin Fitch, one of the campaigners trying to re-open the closed aerodrome, says he has information that it is the first stage of extracting gravel under the surface.

“Hertfordshire’s biggest deposits of gravel are on this site and there’s ten years’ worth there,” says Colin in a video on his Facebook page.

“As of this morning, the land owners have dug a trench across the runway (they do not have planning permission – I have checked) to stop pilots doing touch and go’s on what is still a designated reserve airfield for emergencies as it is the sole runway in the east side of the narrow corridor between Heathrow, Luton and Stanstead,” says Colin.