From the Editor

摘要

It is always sad when a famous old airfield bites the dust. The fate of Panshanger in Hertfordshire is a case in point. This former RAF training base, long a major site for private flying and civilian pilot instruction, closed in September when the lease expired. It will now assist in aiding this country's chronic housing shortage by providing space for hundreds of new homes. Prior to this, there had been a push to have the aerodrome designated as a conservation area, ultimately rejected by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. Responding to campaigners, John Whittingdale said that, "despite it clearly being of some significance, Panshanger Aerodrome does not possess the special architectural or historic interest needed" to warrant such a move. Whittingdale noted how "other sites survive in a better state" as representatives of temporary wartime airfields.