Ipswich Airport

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Ipswich Airport

IATA: IPW - ICAO: EGSE
Summary
Airport type		Closed
Serves		Ipswich
Elevation AMSL		128 ft (39 m)
Coordinates		52°1′51″N, 1°11′41″E
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	ft	m	Surface
08/26	3,445	1,050	Grass
14/32	3,445	1,050	Grass

Ipswich Airport is a former airfield on the outskirts of Ipswich, England.

1 History
2 Closure
3 External links
4 References

[edit] History

The site of 147 acres was purchased by the Ipswich Corporation in 1929 with the intention of creating a municipal airport for Ipswich, with construction starting in the following year. The airport was officially opened by H.R.H. the Duke of Windsor on 26 June 1930, who described the facility as "one of the finest in the country".

The terminal building was designed by Heining and Chitty in 1938 and Grade 2 listed; the rest of the building taken down after finding it unsafe to reuse. The building has been described as "very rare and early example of this type of construction."[1]

The airport, over its functional lifetime, offered scheduled flights to Clacton, Southend, The Channel Islands, Amsterdam, Manchester and a number of chartered flights operated by air taxi firm, Hawk Air.

[edit] Closure

The council, who owned the site, commissioned a development report in 1990 for the site. On the basis of its findings which determined better use of the site for development the Council decided to close the airfield in 1993^[1]. This announcement signalled the start of the campaigns to keep the airport operating as such, and it was thought the airport had been saved when the council allowed businesses to stay in operation with rolling leases, and projects to upgrade the air traffic control systems in September of 1996.

The airfield was delicensed and ceased to be registered by the Civil Aviation Authority on 31st December 1996. Not through lack of use, nor through public pressure; following the announcement of intention to close by Ipswich Borough Council in late September 1996, there were petitions to keep the site as an operating airport, this culminated with a sit-in which started on 1 January 1997; the last aircraft left over a year later in January 1998

Following the closure of the airfield, the site is being regenerated as a new housing estate. The terminal building is being redeveloped by Ashwell Property Group and converted into a community centre and flats. As the airport terminal building is a 'grade 2 listed' building, all reconstruction must be in keeping with the original construction. This includes materials, styles and layout.