This unique Art Deco building is one of the few remaining parts of the once-famous Phillip & Powis - later Miles Aircraft - factory on the former Reading Aerodrome at Woodley. It was originally designed by the respected modernist architect Guy Morgan (1903-1987), constructed in 1938 and formally opened by Air Minister Sir Kingsley Wood on 27th January 1939.

This innovative headquarters building had offices for the directors and heads of all technical departments on the first floor, with machine and fitting shops below and behind. The factory built nearly 6,000 aircraft in the 1930s and ’40s, and also made the earliest Biro ballpoint pens. 

The site is now subject to a Planning application to Wokingham Borough Council for the demolition of all remaining buildings for redevelopment. The Council’s public consultation last year generated more comments objecting to the loss of these 'non-designated heritage assets' than about any other related issues. The developer’s late-submitted 'Built Heritage Statement' is inaccurate and gives poor recognition of this site's role in Woodley or wider aviation history.

An application to Historic England for Listing this historic building is currently being assessed, but we need public support to back this up. 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. 

Please sign this petition now and show your support for retaining this historic landmark building so that future generations will remember Woodley's outstanding contribution to this country's aviation history. Factories like this helped save Britain – we need your help to save them.

Philips & Powis/Miles Aircraft Factory and Reading Aerodrome FACTS

• Formed by local businessmen/engineers Jack Philips and Charles Powis and opened 'Reading Aerodrome' at Woodley as a private venture in 1929.
• Legendary and inspiring 'legless' RAF fighter pilot Douglas Bader crashed and lost both legs at Woodley in 1931.
• Phillips & Powis soon began aeroplane design and construction in partnership with talented husband and wife team Frederick ('F G') and Maxine  ('Blossom') Miles in 1933.
• Blossom Miles was Britain's first female aircraft designer and also a P&P/Miles company director.
• Specialised initially in wooden light aircraft and air racing machines, notably the Miles Falcon, Hawk, Hawk Major, Hawk Speed Six and Sparrowhawk and achieved unprecedented success by taking 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th places in the prestigious King's Cup Air Race in 1935.
• Produced custom-built aircraft for private owners and businessmen including Charles Lindbergh and Whitney Straight in the mid-late 1930s.
• Established and managed various civilian and military flying schools at Woodley and trained hundreds to fly including many future RAF pilots from 1935-53.
• Designed and manufactured numerous wooden single-engined civilian and military training aircraft but also larger multi-engined types from 1933-47.
• Leading producers of modern monoplane training aircraft for the Royal Air Force before and during World War Two with the Miles Hawk Major and Magister basic trainers and the Master advanced trainer;
• The Miles Magister was the first low-wing monoplane adopted for elementary training by the RAF in 1937.
• A £2M Air Ministry order in 1938 for an initial 500 Master Mk Is was the largest ever contract for a British training aircraft at the time.
• Used a 'Moving Track Assembly Line' to construct Miles Masters from 1939 - the first British aircraft company to use this method.
• Mass production of Miles Masters in 1939-1940 was crucial for training RAF Hurricane and Spitfire pilots to fight in the Battle of Britain in 1940.
• Enjoyed a reputation for ambitious and innovative private-venture projects (such as the futuristic Miles Libellula), particularly from 1939-45.
• Established a successful and innovative Miles Aeronautical Technical School for male and female students in 1943. 
• Designed and built the supersonic jet research aircraft, the Miles M.52 which was cancelled by the government just before completion in 1946.
• Acquired the British manufacturing rights for the Hungarian-designed 'Biro' ball-point pen and mass-produced these at Woodley from 1944.
• The Repair & Service Department at Woodley made extensive repairs and modifications to numerous Spitfires from 1942-45.
• In total, over 7,000 aircraft were produced by this major British aircraft manufacturer (6,001 at Woodley) in just 14 years from 1933-47.
• Architect Guy Morgan also designed 'Lands End House' in 1935 for FG & Blossom Miles in nearby Charvil and in 1936 completed Florin Court in London, better known as 'Whitehaven Mansions' in the popular 'Agatha Christie's Poirot' TV series of 1989-2013. Both are already Listed buildings.