PHOTO: Simon Murdoch
The historic airfield of North Weald in Essex now has a new control tower. The state of the art building replaces the tower that was built in 1952 as part of early Cold War modernisation programmes. The 1952 tower, which still exists, is a Grade II listed building. It remains one of only seven control towers of this type to be built and is considered to be one of the best surviving examples. Having built the tower, the last front line combat unit, the Hunters of No. 111 Squadron, (the famous Black Arrows of 22 loop formation fame), left North Weald only six years later in 1958. The RAF withdrew from the airfield completely in 1964.
The new tower is part of a £5.7 million investment by Epping Forest District Council for building new facilities – including the new control tower. The cost of the new combined control tower and fire station is estimated at £4.9m, with new equipment for the tower estimated at £300,000, while a new interim airfield entry point along with works associated with the electrical power supply is estimated at another £500,000.
Work is expected to be completed in October 2025 when the old tower will be closed down. Its future remains unclear, but as mentioned earlier it is a Grade II listed building.
