Yes, it is that Bagby - From the Northern Echo

International airport’ concerns are dismissed

By Nicola Fenwick


VILLAGERS are campaigning to stop a small airfield becoming an international airport.

Bagby Residents Against Airport Expansion (Braae) fear the public are oblivious to Bagby Airfield's plans to expand. They said it could become the next Leeds-Bradford Airport and that the airfield, in North Yorkshire, was already a worry being close to a children's play area and cricket and football club.

Owner Martin Scott wants to build a replacement clubhouse with leisure facilities, accommodation and seven hangars. He also wants permission to extend a hangar, install four wind turbines, create a new vehicle access point and carry out landscaping work.

Jonathan Tulloch, from Braae, said the airport called itself Bagby International on its website and was planning on expanding to accommodate up to 5,000 flights a year. He said: "We are talking about a greenfield site being developed into an airport. If it is not stopped, there is going to be another Leeds-Bradford. We think this is a massive project which people just do not know about. It needs to stay as 40 flights a week - a little enthusiasts' club. Otherwise we might as well just destroy Bagby, because putting an airport here that size and structure is going to put the whole thing out of place."

Airfield manager Steve Hoyle said Braae had blown the matter out of proportion. He said there were no plans for an international airport and that Mr Scott simply wanted to upgrade the facilities. He said the nearby A19 precluded the airfield from extending its runway. He said the 30-year-old wooden sheds used as hangars are falling down and blighting the landscape.

If the plans are approved, they will be demolished and replaced with purpose-built hangars. He also said the replacement clubhouse would have a gym that all Bagby residents could use. Mr Hoyle said most residents supported the plans, and that concerns such as those of Braae's members were raised at a recent open day and that everyone had been told the fears were groundless. He said: "It is a grass runway, so we cannot have anything heavy landing here. We are talking about single-engine and piston-engine aircraft - no jets. We have got quite a number of people in the village who think this is a fantastic idea. We are talking about pulling seven or eight old buildings down and replacing them with upgraded ones. I am a local myself so I would not want an international airport here." He said Bagby Airfield was referred to on the website as Bagby International as an in-joke. He said: "We always used to call it Bagby International because airplanes landed there. That is the way it has always been."

If it wasn't so sad it'd be funny...:{

"We are talking about a greenfield site being developed into an airport.

It would be very funny, if the ignorance shown by some of the general public wasn't so worrying sometimes.

... anyway, arn't airfield sites classified as 'brownfield' now anyway??

That’ll be the same Bagby residents that can’t understand why they can’t buy their shopping from the Double Decker Bus called TESCO’s:confused:

That is the most preposterous bit of scaremongering I have come across. Bagby is a sleepy hollow and always wiil be. Martin Scott is just trying to improve the existing facilities for the benefit of all. The suggestion that it could ever become another Leeds Bradford is absolutely ridiculous.:mad:

Another nail in the coffin of British Journalism.

A quote from the e-mail I sent to the editor "A blind chimp could have told you this was a non-story."

I didn't even need one of those. Mind you, I wonder what The Gorilla would say about it?

The locals are obviously unaware the Topcliffe is just a stones throw away; if anywhere could become a major airport it's there not Bagby. Anyway don't they want the tourism generated by James Herriot?(whose true identity and location can easily be discovered).

I hope all those 737's remember to land past the intersection after it's been raining... can get a little soft at the bottom of the hill where the runway doesn't have matting under the grass!

Don't forget that this is the Northern Echo reporting, not the Times or Flight International, regional rags never let the facts get in the way of embellishing a good story.

I'm all for improvements etc at airfields like Bagby, but I have to say that, given the huge costs, Mr Scott's plans seem to be a tad ambitious considering the likely return.
To fill an extended hanger & 7 new ones he'll have to make a profit from day one to service the financial side of his investment, consequently he's going to have to attract a lot of new flying customers.

No doubt the expansion of the social side, gym etc will be profitable and are a great idea.
I expect the wind turbines are with a view to supplying the airfield and selling off the surplus, again a good idea, but getting planning permission can be difficult, given that they're big, noisy and as ugly as sin - I certainly wouldn't want one in my back yard.


Good luck to him.

No....the wind turbines are just to make easier to find !:O

Hmmm, there may be slightly more to this story than meets the eye.
Parmo Holdings, a well know development company who have recently acquired an airport or two in the north of england are eyeing up this site for a possible buy out. Said their spokesperson Harry Prang "with our recent expansion in the north it has become apparent that there now exists a burgeoning demand for lowcost operations to a number of previously underused destinations in the east. Peal are now in discussions with undisclosed operators in Scotland to commence 5x daily flights to Caracas and Mumbai, using non stop PA28 services. Passenger growth is set to rise to 150 p.a. in the next decade and the siting of Bagby is likely to be a major factor in its success. Parmo are in discussions with the Department of Transport with a view to extending the M1 leeds link road into the village of Bagby."
Managing Director Curry Win added, "the major factor affecting Bagbys expansion is likely to be its name change and to this end we are proposing Keith Richards International on the basis that the famous rock star has never been within 150 miles of the place."
She added that plans for a 250 million square foot Cargo handling depot and associated B777 engineering maintenance base are also due to go before the Parish Council for planning consent in the next few days.

i heard nasa were considering an option to develop Bagby as an alternate landing strip for shuttle missions. very hush hush at the moment as there was rumoured to be an objection by Jimmy Saville , he didn't want shuttles flying over his house in leeds on 'Finals to land' at Bagby.:ok:

Is J S still alive ????

Now then, now then. Its debatable if he ever was alive. Does he not spend his days in Glencoe smoking.:=

Get a few Bagby Airfield supporters together and start a noisy (spoof) campaign to have the airfield converted into an Eco Town and the locals/press/MP/Mayor and assorted worthies will forget all about their Airfield gripes and wax lyrical about the loss of such a fine local asset as the airfield. QED :eek: