New Flying Club Building

[bolide]

What's the story with the "new" Flying Club building at Goodwood? It's been up for a couple of years but - at least on my last visit - has not yet been finished or occupied

Spill the beans, someone!

Nick Froome

[Tempest_5]

I seem to recall reading on another forum that it is something to do with how part of it is constructed. It was not done to spec and is having to be redone. Might have been the roof.

Don't take that as gospel as I haven't been able to find the appropriate thread and I'm getting to the age where I start to suffer from what an older colleague used to refer to as "CRAFT" (Can't Remember A F*cking Thing).

[ewand]

I was talking to someone on Saturday night who was a member of the flying club, and also a local, and a former architect. He said when they first put up the building, he noticed a few things that raised his eyebrows, regarding the quality of construction. GW got into dispute with the builders, who've now gone bust. And it appears the Duke's extended family were involved in the builders, so it's all a bit ugly...

Looking beyond the hoardings, it seems they've taken the roof off? Certainly doesn't look like it's going to be usable for a while.

[Ian Wegg]

There were a lot of, what Goodwood described as, "snagging issues" with the original building. Anyone who looked at it could see the outside was quite tatty and the roof was covered with patches,

New planning permission was submitted in 2016 for the remedial work, which included cladding the building and modifying the roof (the roof was always intended to be a viewing area but the original design didn't include any railing around it!) The permission was granted in early 2017 but I believe work has been delayed by the disputes with the original builders.

The planning permissions can be found on the CDC website: https://publicaccess.chichester.gov.uk/online-appl...

[bolide]

I am really surprised it was left to rumble on for so long. I would have thought LM would have got it sorted before the next major event. Work started at the beginning of 2015

There is an update on the Goodwood website now. It's due to open in September 2018:

https://www.goodwood.com/estate/aerodrome/aerodrom...

Nick Froome

[GRRC575]

Thanks for the updates, I've watched this with interest, as I used to enjoy the scrambled egg on toast there, and wondered why it was taking so long.

[Ian Wegg]

bolide said:

I am really surprised it was left to rumble on for so long. I would have thought LM would have got it sorted before the next major event. Work started at the beginning of 2015

I believe a lot of the delay was due to legal wranglings, the last set of Goodwood accounts mention a £0.8m claim from the original construction company (who, I've just noticed, went into administration earlier this month).

Edited by Ian Wegg on Tuesday 20th March 14:58

[bolide]

GRRC575 said:

Thanks for the updates, I've watched this with interest, as I used to enjoy the scrambled egg on toast there, and wondered why it was taking so long.

I admit my interest lay more in the Flying Club cafe than anything else. It was a great stopover for lunch on the way to the Pallant House Gallery in Chichester

Nick Froome

[Ian Wegg]

bolide said:

I admit my interest lay more in the Flying Club cafe than anything else. It was a great stopover for lunch on the way to the Pallant House Gallery in Chichester

Nick Froome

The cafe moved to the old control tower: https://www.goodwood.com/experiences/dining/aero-c...

I guess it will move back when the building is complete but personally I prefer it where it is.

[ecsrobin]

Ian Wegg said:

bolide said:

I admit my interest lay more in the Flying Club cafe than anything else. It was a great stopover for lunch on the way to the Pallant House Gallery in Chichester

Nick Froome

The cafe moved to the old control tower: https://www.goodwood.com/experiences/dining/aero-c...

I guess it will move back when the building is complete but personally I prefer it where it is.

I think it may stay there. They wouldn’t want common folk using their nice shiny new aeroclub.

[Paul Leek]

ecsrobin said:

I think it may stay there. They wouldn’t want common folk using their nice shiny new aeroclub.

Wasn't there a café in the Old Control Tower at the same time as the aero club had one in the portacabins, or is my memory playing tricks? I think it was called the Vitra Café or something similar.

[ecsrobin]

Paul Leek said:

ecsrobin said:

I think it may stay there. They wouldn’t want common folk using their nice shiny new aeroclub.

Wasn't there a café in the Old Control Tower at the same time as the aero club had one in the portacabins, or is my memory playing tricks? I think it was called the Vitra Café or something similar.

I can only remember the aero cafe and the naafi wagon. When the aeroclub closed the cafe and staff moved to the control tower which can get very busy.

[Stephanie Plum]

Yep Paul’s memory is correct. It was back around 2006 when the Vitra Cafe was there.