Woodley campaigners battle to save former Miles Aircraft factory

The former headquarters of Miles Aircraft is at risk of demolition

A petition calling for part of a former aircraft factory to be saved has been signed almost 3,000 times.

Goya Developments wants to demolish the Art Deco ex-home of Miles Aircraft in Woodley, Berkshire, and erect five new industrial buildings in its place.

Campaigners have said the former factory is historically important and should be granted listed status.

The developer said the building was not "conducive to retention" or "suited to modern business needs".

Karen Covasic-Long told the BBC she had been an admirer of the building since moving to Woodley 15 years ago

Karen Covasic-Long, who is organising the petition, said she has always loved the building, which was designed by modernist architect Guy Morgan and constructed in 1938.

She said the factory in Headley Road East built nearly 6,000 aircraft in the 1930s and 1940s.

"Too many of Britain's former aircraft factories have already been lost to modern development when they could have been saved through intelligent conservation and re-purposing," she added.

Julian Temple, an aviation heritage consultant, told the BBC the factory produced the RAF's first monoplane training aircraft.

"Without aeroplanes like this maybe the outcome of the Battle of Britain would have been different - we wouldn't have had enough pilots trained, perhaps, for the time we needed it," he said.

In a design and access statement published on Wokingham Borough Council's website, Goya Developments said the site would soon be vacant because the current tenants have found new premises.

It added: "The age of the accommodation, the dated building fabric and general disposition of the built form are not conducive to retention, given, regardless of financial input, the spaces offer limited flexibility and are not suited to modern business needs."