There is an online petition against a bill to class all airfields as Brownfield sites and therefore eligible for building houses on. The worrying factor is that small aero clubs and light aviation will be stifled by increasing rents. All these civvies that we all know and banter are after all our biggest support base! There are very few people in the world
who don't complain about low flying and indeed support what we do through the grass roots of aviation. Please take a look and if you agree with the petition then sign it. I won't take you long and it is for a good cause, the notes for the petition...
"The recently published Planning Policy Statement PPS3 – Housing, despite assurances to the contrary given by the then ODPM, omits some vital words relating to airfields.
These were previously included in the superceded Planning Policy Guidance PPG3 – Housing. A footnote relating to the development of "brownfield" sites indicated that an airfield, which may only have a small area of land covered with buildings, should not all be treated as previously developed land.
This was a sensible approach. However despite all the representations made by the General Aviation community and indeed assurances from MPs that this was just a “slip of the pen”, the new statement issued on 29th November 2006. does NOT include the vital footnote. This renders airfields in which are prdominantly in rural locations, increasingly vulnerable to speculative and unsustainable property development and we urgently request that the Prime Minister requests a review of this by his Ministerial colleagues."
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Airfields/
SIA