KingTiger435 Posted September 1, 2022 Share Posted September 1, 2022 (edited) Sorry if this has already been mentioned but I find it very important. I'm not quite sure on the details so I'll just copy+paste the details from the museum announcement. Cornwall Aviation Heritage Centre are set to close permanently following Cornwall Council's decision to no longer support our museum and therefore evict us from our site without viable alternatives being offered. We would like to over-turn this decision and for the owners of the site - Cornwall Council to provide an alternative location within the proximity of the airport as they had originally offered. CAHC was created by local people, is privately funded, pays commercial rents to Cornwall Council and is becoming nationally recognised as an aerospace site of excellence, yet Cornwall Council have failed to recognise the cultural, educational & heritage value of our museum. • The Cornwall Aviation Heritage Centre (‘CAHC’) is a unique, popular, growing, tourism, heritage and education centre. • Situated at Cornwall Airport near to the new Spaceport project, it is locally owned and operates with no support from Cornwall Council who, as owners of Cornwall Airport, are its landlords. • For 7 years CAHC’s owners, staff and volunteers have worked night and day to create something truly unique and very special for Cornwall. The result is an award-winning, top-rated visitor destination and major aerospace/STEM education centre with industry and education collaborations within and outside Cornwall. • Cornwall Council have terminated CAHC’s lease and given a deadline to vacate the site by 31/3/23. • With 20+ airframes of all sizes and thousands of exhibits, suitable alternative locations are few and need to be at or adjacent to Cornwall Airport and costs of relocation would cost hundreds of thousands. • Cornwall Council committed to assist CAHC to relocate their operation but have since refused to make good on these commitments. For more than 10 months the Council have refused to even discuss relocation proposals and funding sources. • With no options for relocation and with Cornwall Council refusing to help, the Cornwall Aviation Heritage Centre, the only aerospace museum in Cornwall, Devon and Dorset will have to close forever. • All of this amazing amenity and opportunity will be lost. Jobs will be destroyed. Valuable and historic aircraft of all sizes will have to be scrapped because of the prohibitive cost of road transport. The opportunity to inspire and educate Cornwall’s future generations will be lost. 60 dedicated veteran and retired volunteers will lose a vital part of their lives. • Cornwall Council should be welcoming this unparalleled opportunity for Cornwall and, as a crucial part of the Levelling Up agenda, the Council should be encouraging and nurturing the Cornwall Aviation Heritage Centre in its bid to provide the County with a National quality aerospace destination and centre for learning – at no cost to the County. Instead Cornwall Council is destroying it. Thank you for taking the time to read this news. We are all devastated, but we will still work to find a solution or, if not successful, to find ways to preserve the aircraft and exhibits. Here's the link to the petition: https://www.change.org/p/save-cornwall-aviation-heritage-centre I honestly think this is quite horrible of the Cornwall council, the museum seems to be a very popular and impressive attraction, I have not the faintest clue why they want the museum closed. Let's hope that doesn't happen... Thanks to @Adam Poultney for bringing this to my attention. Edited September 1, 2022 by KingTiger435 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Poultney Posted September 1, 2022 Share Posted September 1, 2022 Already planning my visit in two weekends possibly... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lasermonkey Posted September 1, 2022 Share Posted September 1, 2022 Signed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul J Posted September 1, 2022 Share Posted September 1, 2022 That is a shocker! Sounds the local authority are being a bit "jobsworthy".! Also, it sounds like there are some bodies in the higher echelons of the authority who are very much anti aviation and green brigade warriors! Can you imagine if the same happened to places like Hendon, Duxford or other collections 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lasermonkey Posted September 1, 2022 Share Posted September 1, 2022 1 hour ago, Paul J said: That is a shocker! Sounds the local authority are being a bit "jobsworthy".! Also, it sounds like there are some bodies in the higher echelons of the authority who are very much anti aviation and green brigade warriors! Can you imagine if the same happened to places like Hendon, Duxford or other collections Speculation. And politics. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogsbody Posted September 1, 2022 Share Posted September 1, 2022 The Alberta Aviation Museum is presently having a similar issue with the city of Edmonton. The municipal airport was closed done some years ago and portions of it have been sold off to commercial and residential businesses. Chris 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3DStewart Posted September 1, 2022 Share Posted September 1, 2022 I'm not familiar with the museum, but I assume the Council feel the land they own around the airport will better serve the people if it's used in another way. Active aviation perhaps? If the planes have value (historical, collectability, etc) somebody will arrange to transport them elsewhere. If they don't have value is it really necessary to keep them? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanHx Posted September 2, 2022 Share Posted September 2, 2022 "near to the new Spaceport project" I suspect there is your smoking gun..... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Circloy Posted September 2, 2022 Share Posted September 2, 2022 There are two sides to every story Cornwall Council's response It appears the fault lie's with CAHC taking on a lease WITHOUT the option to renew 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alt-92 Posted September 2, 2022 Share Posted September 2, 2022 35 minutes ago, Circloy said: CAHC taking on a lease WITHOUT the option to renew Well, I know how that goes... Q: "Can we renew after the lease expires?" A: "We will keep that under consideration" Easy to get wrongfooted that way, and then the drama ensues. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3DStewart Posted September 2, 2022 Share Posted September 2, 2022 1 hour ago, Circloy said: There are two sides to every story Cornwall Council's response It appears the fault lie's with CAHC taking on a lease WITHOUT the option to renew Setting up a museum on a site with a six year lease doesn't seem a good idea to me. By the sounds of it Cornwall Council have already given them a one year extension to allow time to relocate, but for whatever reason that didn't happen. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mottlemaster Posted September 2, 2022 Share Posted September 2, 2022 What ever the reasons its very sad . One of Cornwalls best museums 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted September 2, 2022 Share Posted September 2, 2022 I've signed it, as if I manage to get to Cornwall I'd like to go there, but haven't yet had a confirmation through. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Circloy Posted September 2, 2022 Share Posted September 2, 2022 11 hours ago, alt-92 said: Well, I know how that goes... Q: "Can we renew after the lease expires?" A: "We will keep that under consideration" Easy to get wrongfooted that way, and then the drama ensues. Except "Cornwall Aviation Heritage Centre (CAHC) has been a tenant at Newquay Airport since 2015. They signed a disclaimer at that point acknowledging there was no right of renewal when its lease expired in 2021. However, in order to assist the centre to find a new site, the Council extended the lease by a further 12 months." (my highlight) Management @ CAHC have known since 2015 that they needed to find alternative accommodation. From the OP I assume the volunteers were kept in the dark and didn't know the situation I agree it would be a shame if all their efforts were to go to waste but it does seem the blame is being wrongly apportioned. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alt-92 Posted September 4, 2022 Share Posted September 4, 2022 On 9/2/2022 at 9:20 PM, Circloy said: Management @ CAHC have known since 2015 that they needed to find alternative accommodation. What I'm saying is that a non-committal answer to queries could very well be interpreted as 'we can re-sign' by optimistic people. Even when the letters on your signed lease say no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnT Posted September 4, 2022 Share Posted September 4, 2022 Reading the above my experiences of commercial leasing come to mind. First six years in not a long time in business. That length of time makes me raise an eyebrow. I suspect that there was quite a bit of chat in the background and unless one knows what warnings or alternatively what "promises" were being made at the time one does not have a complete picture. Without that one does not know quite who the "villains of the piece" are. Second, local authorities are usually not great at maintaining consistency - mind you commercial landlords aren't either at times. The problem for local authorities are many. Circumstances change, constituents and voters demands change, Councillors and policy changes etc. In the past few years the news seems to be that attitudes of locals are changing and income/ jobs from tourism etc is less vote worthy than the pressures on homes. No comments either way. Its a tricky situation and a balance needs to be found there. Changes like that do impact into the desire of the local authority to recover the land for other purposes whether that be housing or job creation. In my view the operators of the museum, having negotiated only six years guaranteed occupancy, should have been planning a remove from pretty much day 1. TBH I might even have passed on the site in the beginning but that's being unfair to the people dealing with the situation at the time. They might have been lulled into a false sense of security by promises, nods and winks (really from politicians??) or alternatively might have been told that 6 years was the end of the line. I'd suggest an FOI request on all passing emails etc but even then I've seen the "Look don't worry this is just a formality and we do this all the time. A renewal is standard. No problem." Only then it changes with the times and people in charge and now is a problem. All in all you stick with whats on the paperwork in day 1, plan for worst case scenario and if that's not needed then that's a bonus. I hope the people at the museum find a new home. I was there a few years back and it was a good afternoon mooching about. Perhaps some funding might be found to assist in relocating exhibits? I have a nice 1.5 acre field if they are interested and it would be permanent but Scottish Borders might be a bit far. One last thought - Do local authorities, folks in charge generally and pressure groups really value aviation heritage??? Given whats happened at East of Scotland Air Museum and other museums/ old airfields around the country I really do wonder about that. Perhaps closing most of the small museums and putting the resources into maybe 4-5 mega museums like say Cosford, Duxford, etc as 4-5 national service types museums spread across the population and geographically across the country with sate of the art facilities (inc fly- in?) with education and conservancy centers of excellence might be a better way of saving aviation heritage ??? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busnproplinerfan Posted April 12, 2023 Share Posted April 12, 2023 I just found out about this and found a site for the council, cornwall.gov.uk maybe give them an email. I did and I can't get over there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bentwaters81tfw Posted April 12, 2023 Share Posted April 12, 2023 On 04/09/2022 at 08:34, alt-92 said: What I'm saying is that a non-committal answer to queries could very well be interpreted as 'we can re-sign' by optimistic people. Even when the letters on your signed lease say no. When signing on the line, they had an option to extend for another 7 years, but declined. There was a discussion board on the net last night about this. My understanding is they moved down from Leicester with the promise of some government funding. They have never succeeded in making it a worthwhile financial proposition. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahawk Posted April 13, 2023 Share Posted April 13, 2023 (edited) Afraid by now the saga should be all over. Sometime last week the museum was given notice by Cornwall Council's estate management agents to vacate the site by Tues 11 April, after which they would arrange for the site to be cleared because allegedly they have new tenants. So a good time to be looking for aluminium scrap in Cornwall. And a very sad time for aviation enthusiasts in general and the Museum's dedicated volunteers, who are mostly elderly, in particular. Quite what Cornwall Council are playing at in their deliberate and apparently vindictive destruction of one of Cornwall's few non-tacky tourist attractions beats me. I wish they'd show the same single-minded energy and determination on some other issues! https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/cornwall-aviation-museum-ordered-leave-8326242?int_source=nba Edited April 13, 2023 by Seahawk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3DStewart Posted April 13, 2023 Share Posted April 13, 2023 I don't know the ins and outs, but if I was given a 1 year extension to a lease by a Landlord to give me time to find somewhere else, I would assume I would be homeless at the end of the year and get serious about moving. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julien Posted April 18, 2023 Share Posted April 18, 2023 On 13/04/2023 at 17:44, 3DStewart said: I don't know the ins and outs, but if I was given a 1 year extension to a lease by a Landlord to give me time to find somewhere else, I would assume I would be homeless at the end of the year and get serious about moving. There does seem to be a degree of burying ones head in the sand here? Im not sure the council are the evil wrong dooers they are made out to be in some areas, but it does not seem to me like they want to help out? 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigsty Posted April 18, 2023 Share Posted April 18, 2023 2 hours ago, Julien said: but it does not seem to me like they want to help out? What I heard on the local news last week was that the council had agreed they could keep some exhibits on site for "a few months" until the new tenant arrives. Or possibly after, if it's somewhere else nearby. They agreed this after the museum's plans to shift the collection to another place in Cornwall (perhaps temporarily) fell through at short notice. With that and the year's grace it sounds as though they've done plenty, bearing in mind they have another tenant who's paying for the space and they need to fill all sorts of holes in funding to carry on providing public services. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alt-92 Posted April 19, 2023 Share Posted April 19, 2023 On 4/13/2023 at 3:56 PM, Seahawk said: Quite what Cornwall Council are playing at in their deliberate and apparently vindictive destruction This is a normal contractual business deal. You sign a lease for a fixed period. At the end of that period, you need something new. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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