Leuchars: refurbishment work at Scotland’s oldest air hangar gets council decision

The proposals for the former airbase , now home to the army, come from Glasgow based construction and engineering experts at McLaughlin & Harvey. This week they got permission from Fife Council to replace 11 of Hangar 55’s timber doors. They also plan to refurbish and retain a suite of 25 windows in the building.

“Although these proposals will result in the loss of existing doors, it is clear from the conditions survey that these doors are beyond their product life and no longer fit for purpose,” a planning statement said.

Leuchars Station was originally built as an RAF base. Before its closure it had a tradition of over a century of use for aviation, and was one of the longest continuously operating military airfields in the world.

In 2014, the last RAF air defence squadrons left the station, and the following year it was taken over by the British Army. Hangar 55 is one of the site’s most renowned structures. The double bay aircraft hanger was built between 1917 and 1918 during the First World War. Along with Hangar 57, it is the oldest aircraft hangar in Scotland.

The UK Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) is currently carrying out works to renovate it for use as a vehicle and mechanical maintenance store and office accommodation, which is all part of the wider Leuchars Station Phase V works.

Developers conducted a conditions survey in April which suggested that doors with rotten timber, holes, delamination, and general deterioration be replaced. Similarly, windows that are difficult to operate, draughty, decaying, or have condensation between glazing layers have been suggested for replacement.

“Given the poor state of a number of these windows and doors, the following is proposed: replacement of 12 ‘like for like’ doors; refurbishment of eight existing doors; refurbishment of 14 existing windows; retention of 11 existing windows,” a planning statement described.

Fife Council planners have stipulated that the restoration work must be done within the next three years, and they also emphasised that the paint colour must match the existing doors and windows.