The Strategic Aerodrome Network (SAN) reports that it now has 118 airfields listed as being strategically important to UK aviation infrastructure, and its programme directors are continuing to encourage more airfields to join.
Ann Bartby and Louise Southern, who run the programme, says that the SAN is now of even more importance as Government’s new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) proposals gives the highest priority for new housing to be built on previously developed brownfield land and impacted parties only have until 24 September to respond to the proposals.
Currently, General Aviation (GA) airfields are categorised as being previously developed brownfield land, having lost an exclusion to the categorisation some 20 years ago when the exclusion was omitted in error in an updated policy document, and which has subsequently failed to have been rectified.
The SAN adds that there are three main reasons to justify why airfields should not be regarded as brownfield:
- This was never intended
- Since 2018 airfields have had very strong policy support in the NPPF
- GA airfields now have greater recognition as critical aviation infrastructure and wide community value
The SAN adds that the Airfield Owners Group (AOG) and the General Aviation Awareness Council (GAAC) are currently fighting to get the airfield categorisation changed and are encouraging airfield owners/operators to as also submit comments.
“It is reasonable to agree to the principle that brownfield land should be developed first, but to also state that airfields are not ‘brownfield’ or ‘previously developed land’ and the NPPF should explicitly exclude airfields from the definition of ‘brownfield’,” said the SAN.
In terms of safeguarding individual airfields, the SAN says: “It is easy to assume that the nature and importance of GA airfields is universally understood but that is not true. Even where strong evidence is provided to a local planning authority (LPA) when there is a proposal for development that could harm an airfield’s activity or a proposal to allocate the airfield for another use, the airfield operation is often not understood. This means that the onus is usually on the airfield owner or operator to take steps to flag up the airfield operation to the local planning authority (LPA) – usually the district council. All GA airfields, licensed and unlicensed should ideally lodge a ‘safeguarding plan’ with the LPA. This can be done in stages, with a simple plan initially which can be made more sophisticated over time.”
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