A FLYING club that had its lease terminated after a disagreement with its landlord revealed what really happened.

Bicester Gliding Club, which has operated at the town's former RAF base for more than 16 years, was 'forced out' of its home in July.

In a tell-all letter to all its 300 members, acting chairman Andrew Reid detailed how new restrictions made it impossible for the club to operate, and it even lost £50,000.

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The airfield – one of England’s oldest RAF sites – is now being developed by Bicester Motion, the parent company of of Bicester Heritage, which took over the land in 2013 and created a classic car hub there.

When Bicester Motion began hosting events in the larger hangar, ranging from trade shows to wedding receptions, the clubhouse had to move to other 'derelict' premises, which had not been used for 50 years.

In his letter, Mr Reid explained that, after extensive refurbishment of the ground floor by Bicester Motion, Bicester Gliding Club moved in their new base in April 2018.

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The chairman added: "In good faith, the club then spent almost £50,000 and thousands of man-hours restoring and fitting out the derelict first floor for overnight accommodation, providing shower and toilet facilities and a briefing room.

"On the ground floor a bar and kitchen were built, and in the hangar, a workshop.

"After lengthy period of negotiation, a six-year lease was finally signed in December 2018 and we looked forward to a period of stability."

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But only a month later in January last year the landlord published a 'masterplan' for the airfield which, according to Bicester Gliding Club, involved new buildings around the perimeter of the field and a series of vehicle tracks to be laid on the flying surface.

Mr Reid confirmed that he advised Bicester Motion that these plans were incompatible with the club's operations, however, he was told they were just 'ideas'.

He added: "We had misgivings but hoped that any action to further the masterplan would be many years away.

"It was with considerable shock that the club was then notified in December –just over a year after signing the new lease – that it was to be terminated at the end of June and a new lease negotiated.

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"It became clear that Bicester Heritage wanted to operate the airfield themselves and have a wide range of users and events on the field."

According to Mr Reid the company's vision included 'autonomous aircraft and vehicle development and testing as well as developing an automotive experience centre with the site potentially becoming a UK Top 20 attraction'.

For the gliding club, this meant that members would have to book the field in advance.

Mr Reid also added that no indication was given on how much it would cost or how many days would be made available.

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He commented: "We concluded that it could not remain financially viable without being able to deliver the current level of service to members and activity on the field.

"With no confidence that they would be able to fly on the good gliding days, we expected that many of our members would go elsewhere.

"The busy introductory flights programme that enabled us to operate seven days a week would also not be possible."

With this in mind, the gliding club sought an extension to its existing lease for the busy summer period and the regional competition, for which it had already taken deposits.

However, a new lease or an extension was not agreed and the gliding club moved out in June.

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At the time Dan Geoghegan, chief executive of Bicester Motion, said: "We have welcomed the knowledge and experience of Bicester Gliding Club and have thanked them for this.

"We hope that they will accept our invitation to fly in to visit the aerodrome in the future.

"Meanwhile we wish them every success with their future plans and the opportunities it will bring the sport."

As part of Bicester Motion’s plan to create an automotive resort, it has formed the Bicester Aerodrome Company to operate the airfield from July.

The new company will oversee aviation operations, aiming to encourage a more diverse aviation culture and activity.

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