Safeguarding is ... divided into two distinct parts; officially safeguarded aerodromes and those that have tacit arrangements with the Local Authority Planners.
Not exactly. From my planning policy officers:
Policy 8/13 Cambridge Airport Public Safety Zone within the Cambridge Local Plan 2006 refers to the Public Safety Zone shown on the Proposals Map as a cone (with a corresponding cone in South Cambridgeshire). In addition, there are also safeguarding zones which restrict the height of new buildings in Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire. These safeguarding zones are mentioned in paragraph 8.33 of the supporting text to the policy. These height restrictions will be taken into account in any planning decisions.
The mapping information held by the City Council on the safeguarding zones was provided to us by Marshall on the basis of the Town and Country Planning General Development Order 1988: Town and Country Planning Aerodromes and Aeronautical Technical Site Direction 1992, which was issued with Department of the Environment Circular 2/92. At this point, we were required to consult with Marshall, the CAA and the MOD. This has since been replaced by Circular 01/03 Safeguarding, Aerodromes, Technical Sites and Military Explosives Storage Areas. Annex 3 of the Circular 01/03 sets out the civil airports subject to official safeguarding. Cambridge Airport is not on this list of officially safeguarded airports. This means that we are not required to consult the CAA and the MOD. Although the circular does not apply formally to Cambridge Airport, the Department for Transport has confirmed that it is considered good practice for the airport to set out any necessary height constraints and to agree these as constraints with the Local Planning Authority. In the light of the constraints mapping data held by the City Council on height restrictions, Marshall is consulted on planning applications as a matter of course. In the event of their objection to any planning application, this is taken into account in decision-making.
So, nothing tacit about this at all, it's all quite explicit. But you do have to ask to get that level of detail, not surprisingly.