Airfield ‘greenfield’ protection petition passes 10,000 signatures
A member of the Save Nottingham City (Tollerton) Airfield campaign has started a petition to have airfields reclassified as ‘Greenfield’ sites instead of ‘Brownfield’ to help protect them from potential closure and redevelopment as housing estates. The petition to Parliament , which at the time of writing has attracted over 11,000 signatures, was started by Sarah Deacon, who said, “Airfields around the country are categorised as...
UK airfield round-up
In a general round up of airport news from around the UK, FTN takes a look at some of those airfields currently under threat and some which are living the high life. With apologies to those airfields that have been inadvertently left out from this report, here’s the current UK airfield scene as FTN perceives it. First on the threat list is Old Sarum airfield in Wiltshire, which has been very quiet for the last few years after the...
Swansea Airport loses license amid safety concerns
The CAA has halted Swansea Airport (EGFH)’s operating licence citing a “systematic failure of safety management”. Following an unannounced audit in which “a series of safety concerns” were found, the aerodrome’s status as a licensed facility was revoked on 15 February. A spokesperson for the CAA told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the provisional license suspension was the result of ineffective safety management,...
Rougham airfield to shut in May
Residents of Rougham airfield, located three miles east of Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, have been given notice to quit ahead of the impending closure of the site. Rougham Estates, which owns the airfield, has written to residents to inform them that the airfield’s license will not be renewed. Simon Eddell, Rougham Estates manager, emphasised this decision had been reached “because of increased costs of insuring, running and...
Doncaster’s mayor launches bid to protect airport’s controlled airspace
Mayor of Doncaster Ros Jones has called on the Civil Aviation Authority to protect the former airport’s controlled airspace. Doncaster Sheffield Airport closed at the end of 2022 after owners the Peel Group cited the site as financially unviable. Despite bids for the site from the council and the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA), these were both rejected, and passenger flights were ceased in November before the site...
