Wisley Airfield

Wisley Airfield is a former wartime airfield located in the Parish of Ockham near Wisley in Surrey, England. Originally a grass airstrip, the runway was converted to tarmac in 1952 and used to test aircraft built at Weybridge by Vickers. Flying ceased in 1973 because the runway was too short for large aircraft and was too close to Heathrow. All the structures on the site were removed, except for the runway, and the land was sold back to its principal former owner in 1980 for agricultural use.

The land on which this airstrip was built was requisitioned in 1942 during WW2. Land was contributed mainly by the Ockham Park Estate, which at the time owned most of the Village of Ockham, Surrey. Land was taken mainly from Hyde, Stratford and Corsair farms - with land contributed by other tenants. The farm tenants vacated their houses to comply with the government's requirements.
It has been generally believed and accepted that HM Government gave an undertaking to restore the land to its pre-war condition when it was returned to its original owners.
As the land was not registered at HM Land Registry until 1981, the wartime transfers of the land and any accompanying conditions are not recorded at HM Land Registry.
However the matter was referred to in a debate in Parliament at the time the land was sold back to Lord Lytton in 1980 and recorded in Hansard.

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