Plans submitted to turn RAF base into apartments

Bilney House was used by the RAF during World War Two

A planning application has been submitted to convert a former RAF base and private school into eight self-contained apartments.

The Grade II listed Bilney House on Manby Park, about five miles from Louth, is situated on the site of the former RAF Manby base.

The applicant said the building had been marketed for commercial uses for over two years and now sought to bring the “heritage asset” back into use with a “viable long term proposed use”.

East Lindsey District Council will decide whether to approve a planning application which was submitted on 26 July.

The development would involve creating eight new apartments, new parking provision, cycle and bin storage, and external paving, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service,

RAF Manby opened in August 1938, a year before the outbreak of World War Two, and closed in March 1974.

The site became Locksley Christian School in 1992 before changing its name to Regents Academy and closing in 2017.

The planning application is for listed building consent due to the historic significance of the site.

A change of use application for Bilney House was approved by the council in 2022.

Work began on the building in June, but internal alterations cannot be made until listed building consent is granted.

The development will form part of a wider residential plan for Manby Park.

Permission has been granted for 42 apartments at the Charter House, a mixed use development at The Guardroom, and flats at Bowen House.

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