RAF Locking was a Royal Air Force base at Locking just outside Weston-super-Mare in Somerset, England.
Slightly north of the base is the site of Locking Castle a motte and bailey castle on Carberry Hill.[1] It has been designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument.[2]
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RAF Locking was opened as a training unit in 1937.[3] The Technical Site of RAF Locking, as distinct from the airfield about a mile away and called RAF Weston-super-Mare, was the home of the RAF's No.1 Radio School,[4] until its relocation in 1999 to RAF Cosford.
The base was bought by the South West of England Regional Development Agency and the agency English Partnerships from the Ministry of Defence in 2002. The agencies and North Somerset Council intend to attract high-tech companies to the site. In October 2006, Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology became one of the first such companies to announce its move there. Proposals are under consideration for an employment and residential development for the site that could deliver 25 hectares (61.8 acres) of employment space and up to 1,800 new homes.[5]
In July 2011 North Somerset Council gave planning permission for the £50 million LeisureDome,[6] which will contain a 210-metre (690 ft) indoor ski slope, a 40-metre (130 ft) climbing wall, a vertical wind tunnel for indoor skydiving, indoor surfing, a BMX track, a health and fitness club, and a number of shops and restaurants. Construction is expected to commence in December 2011, with completion in early 2013.[6] At 60 metres (200 ft) it will be the tallest building in North Somerset.
In 2011 a housing development known as Paklands Village was proposed.[7]