The Derby airport plan which never took off

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The water tower on Radbourne Lane, Mackworth

Proposed site

The water tower on Radbourne Lane, Mackworth

AN airport at Mickleover – whatever next? Sounds madness today to even think about aircraft taking off and landing less than four miles from the centre of Derby – but, 70 years ago, that is what very nearly happened.

The site was on fields in Radbourne Lane, just off Ashbourne Road, and it was considered by some to be perfect for establishing a municipal airfield.

Many members of Derby Town Council were in favour, costings had been worked out, land to be compulsorily purchased identified and it had even got to the point where Trent and Derby Corporation were arguing over who should get the licence to run airport bus services from the town centre.

So, how did the residents of Mickleover, Mackworth and Radbourne escape having holiday jets buzzing over their chimney pots and landing on the forerunner of East Midlands Airport?

The story of their near miss is revealed in a new book about the village, Mickleover Born and Bred, by Peter Brown, who said: “I bet people today would never sleep in their beds at night if they had realised what might have happened in the future on land where the well-known water tower landmark stands.”

He tells how, in the early 1930s, Derby Town Council let it be known that they were in the process of establishing an airport somewhere in the borough. By 1935, serious proposals were discussed in committee and it was decided, by a large majority, to take steps to acquire a site of around 200 acres adjoining Radbourne Lane.

For several years, Rolls-Royce had been pressing the council to provide an airfield and, by 1933, after a full investigation and expert advice from the Air Ministry, the matter was discussed by the full Derby Town Council.

At a special public meeting, it explained its plan to compulsorily purchase 227.18 acres of farm land, woodland and roads in the county as well as the borough land in the parishes of Radbourne, Mackworth and Mickleover. This would be sufficient to provide runways of approximately 1,100 yards in each direction and the total cost was estimated at £113,000.

Inevitably, there was plenty of controversy.

One independent Labour member accused the council of concealment over its negotiations, claiming they had been made in conjunction with the government, but the mayor of the day, Councillor B S Thorpe denied this.

Another councillor said the cost of such “a highly speculative proposition” was wrong at a time when so many other amenities needed attention. Even in those early days of air travel there was concern about noise, with worries about disturbance to patients in the three nearby hospitals – the County Mental Hospital, City Hospital and Kingsway.

But a resident of Station Road, Mickleover, attempted to put people’s minds at rest by pointing out that the noise would be no worse than that caused by motorcycles – “besides, silencers might soon be invented,” he said, reassuringly.

It was, of course, a time when no-one knew about jet engines and 400-seater aircraft.

Another view was that the discussions were very similar to those which had taken place 100 years earlier, when the railways were first brought to Derby.

With the fear of war forever in people’s minds, experts addressed meetings and opposition arose after one produced a leaflet issued by the Ministry of Health on The Danger of Enemy Aircraft, commenting: “It is hateful to talk about war but there would be nothing to stop the Government from taking over the aerodrome.”

Despite an appeal by one councillor that, with Derby having the finest engine works in the country, people should help and not hinder it, the proposal was thrown out.

But it really had been a distinct possibility.

At the time, though flying was in its infancy, the future prospects were obvious, and many towns and cities wanted to become part of the forward thinking which, they believed, would bring prosperity and new jobs to their communities.

Eventually, Mickleover breathed a sigh of relief when the Air Ministry decided Radbourne was too small and incapable of expansion. Rolls-Royce lost interest and concentrated its attention on a site at Hucknall and eventually Derby Airport was sited at Burnaston.

The tale is told in detail in Peter Brown’s book which traces the history of Mickleover from 1066 to 1937. His second book covering pre-war to the present day will be published early next year.

Mickleover, Book One, priced £9.50, is available from Mickleover Library, the village Community Centre, Derby Cathedral Shop and Derby Heritage Centre.

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