page_title: RAF West Ruislip
section_title: Closure and redevelopment
hierarchical_section_title: RAF West Ruislip / Closure and redevelopment
caption_attribution_description: This is the scale model of the Cala Homes development at Ickenham Park. It's being built on top of the former US Naval base RAF West Ruislip, which stood on the site since the 1970s. There's a comprehensive and touching catalogue of the site at the end of it's operation here:- www.flickr.com/photos/routemaster/sets/72157604735012332/
context_page_description: RAF West Ruislip was a Ministry of Defence site, located in Ickenham within the London Borough of Hillingdon. The base was originally built as a depot for the Royal Air Force, split by what is now the Chiltern Main Line. North of the railway was RAF Blenheim Crescent, which housed the RAF Records Office and the depot's original personnel accommodation.
  The site was leased to the US Air Force in 1955, followed by the US Navy in 1975, eventually housing the Navy Exchange of the U.S. Naval Activities, United Kingdom command, and the Navy's Morale, Welfare and Recreation Department.
  Following a review of properties, the US Navy vacated the site in 2006 and it became surplus to the Ministry of Defence's requirements under Project MoDEL. The following year, initial plans for around 415 homes and a retirement home were approved by the London Borough of Hillingdon in July 2007. Almost all buildings were subsequently demolished to make way for the new development. Cala Homes bought the 21-acre site for £180m in November.
context_section_description: Following a review of facilities, the US Navy elected to vacate the West Ruislip site, beginning on 30 June 2006. The final chapel service had been held on 5 June. Many operations returned to the United States, as part of a plan to save $1 million each year. Staff redundancies involved 7 US service personnel, 55 civilian staff from the US Department of Defence and 95 British civilian staff. The base closed during a ceremony on 28 September, in which the American flag and Royal Air Force Ensign were lowered.
  All personnel from the Navy Exchange had already transferred to new facilities in Naples, Italy. U.S. Naval Activities, United Kingdom was officially stood down on 14 September 2007 at a ceremony at RAF Daws Hill.
  In late 2007, all buildings on the site excluding the elementary school were demolished. RAF Blenheim Crescent was not included in the demolition works. The Brackenbury Village housing was retained as it was separate from the military buildings. Cala Homes purchased the 21-acre (85,000 m²) site for a £180m development in November 2007. Explore Living Thames Valley later bought a 5.5-acre (22,000 m²) plot from Cala Homes in February 2008.
  Outline planning permission was granted by the London Borough of Hillingdon in January 2009 despite local opposition to some buildings having flat roofs. Up to 50% of the new homes will be social housing. The plan included 415 homes, with an 80-bed care home; the largest buildings will be six storeys high.
  In September 2010, Cala Homes sought permission from the London Borough of Hillingdon to sell the first 30 completed homes before completing all highway work on the site in order to keep the development financially viable.
  By September 2011, around 50 of the first 100 homes had been sold, with an additional 30 houses under construction. The largest building under construction, Cottesmore House, was completed in October 2011. The final homes on the Ickenham Park development were completed during 2013. A McCarthy & Stone tailored care living development received planning permission in May 2014, and is due to open in early 2016.
  In September 2014, the Eden Academy Trust began a public consultation on reopening the former elementary school as a free special school in January 2015. Under the plans, it would be refurbished and open to 32 pupils, and would be gradually expanded to eventually have a full intake of 140 pupils by September 2016. The school, named Pentland Field School, opened to its first intake of pupils on 12 January 2015, and was officially reopened by the Permanent Secretary for the Department for Education, Chris Wormald.
caption: Scale model of the Ickenham Park development
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 1000D", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "1000", "Image YResolution": "1000", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Digital Photo Professional", "Image DateTime": "2011:11:13 12:54:43", "Image Artist": "", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "280", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "1000", "Thumbnail YResolution": "1000", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "4972", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "9697", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/20", "EXIF FNumber": "4", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "800", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2011:11:13 12:54:43", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2011:11:13 12:54:43", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "35/8", "EXIF ApertureValue": "4", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "27", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3888", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2592", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "Interoperability RelatedImageWidth": "3888", "Interoperability RelatedImageLength": "2592", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "4808", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "324000/73", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "2592000/583", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Manual", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard"}