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HomeCar CultureMake it not so: Star Trek star doesn’t like Mullin's plans for...

Make it not so: Star Trek star doesn’t like Mullin’s plans for UK car museum

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“Sir Patrick Stewart tells millionaire property developer to boldly go away,” reads the headline in Friday edition of The Times of London, which reports that the actor objects to plans by highly respected American car collector and museum owner Peter Mullin to develop the former Royal Air Force’s Enstone Airfield.

According to the newspaper, Mullin has proposed a nearly $80 million project that would include a ”world class classic and collector car museum,” a “corporate hospitality building,” and 28 “holiday lodges.”

The newspaper reports that Stewart owns a home near the site in West Oxfordshire and has written to the district council to object to the proposed development.

Peter Mullin | Mullin museum photo

A Scottish newspaper noted that, “The airfield is within phaser-striking distance of the country residence which Sir Patrick shares with his third wife, American singer-songwriter Sunny Ozell, 38 years his junior.”

The Times said Stewart objects to the disruption the project would cause and that there is no mention of affordable housing.

Perhaps the next time he’s in Hollywood, the actor should drive a little west to Oxnard and visit Mullin’s museum, where Mullin currently is displaying the world’s best collection of Citroen vehicles and a tribute to the company’s innovative founder.

Or if he doesn’t want to travel quite so far, there’s always the Petersen Automotive Museum right there in Los Angeles. Mullin is the museum’s chairman and led the effort to revamp the facility inside and out.

Mullin’s proposal for the British site reportedly notes that Mullin and his family are frequent visitors to the area and “are taken with the beauty, history and warmth of its residents. They look forward to purchasing a home in the housing development proposed and in sharing their magnificent collection with the people of the United Kingdom.”

The Enstone Airfield | Fly Away Simulation illustration

The proposal also says proceeds from museum admissions would be used to help with the restoration of the Great Tew House, a local landmark.

Mullin’s proposal was presented to the parish council in August 2017, and said he planned to keep there a collection of more than 200 pre-war and European classic cars. The council was told that two other sites had been considered, including one in France.

Currently, the Enstone Airfield is open for light aircraft, including motor gliders and microlights. It was established by the RAF in 1942 as a satellite airfield in operation until 1947.

Overview of Citroen display in the Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, California | Larry Edsall photo

According to rumor, the field was the home to six heavily modified, gloss-black Arvo Lancaster bombers being prepared for the possible delivery of atomic weapons.

The newspaper reports that Mullin’s proposal includes a glass-fronted museum building overlooking a landscaped garden and pond, as well as a “Bentley Pavilion” and holiday lodges.

Mullin could not be reached for his reaction to Stewart’s statement.

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Larry Edsall
Larry Edsall
A former daily newspaper sports editor, Larry Edsall spent a dozen years as an editor at AutoWeek magazine before making the transition to writing for the web and becoming the author of more than 15 automotive books. In addition to being founding editor at ClassicCars.com, Larry has written for The New York Times and The Detroit News and was an adjunct honors professor at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.

2 COMMENTS

  1. Peter Mullin’s sites are usually very nice, I don’t think they’d cause any tribble at all. Some people just never want the countryside to change and prefer to Klingon to the past. Sir Pat Stew should set phasers to "maybe" and give it chance.

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