Imminent threat to Enstone airfield

[genrege]

I'm forwarding this on, as Enstone airfield is under threat as per below. Apologies if this is the wrong forum or an inappropriate post, but thought I'd give it a shot.

Some of you may be aware that the Enstone land owners want to turn it into a wind or solar farm which will close the main and southern grass runways. OSF have been advised that they stand a good chance of fighting this. I forward the message below. If anyone is also a OSF member please attend and support this.

Things are getting time critical with the negotiations with Lowman Holdings ( The Landlords ) and OSF. I have decided that it is now time to call a meeting to explain the situation and to receive members input. At the meeting I will be suggesting the setting up of a fund to cover solicitors costs. I do not think that the Directors of OSF should fund any action by them selves and indeed may be reticent to do so entirely. I also will be speaking to Paul Fowler down the other end to muster his members to support the fund (not this meeting) as well.

Short notice I know but We are nominating Saturday 29th Jan 2011 for 11am start at OSF.

Please have a ring round other OSF members you know as I do not have any members contact details. This will be possibly the most important meeting O.S.F has ever held. Thinking about it I cannot remember them ever having one (with their members that is!!). See You Sat.

Cheers

Steve Copson

[xrayalpha]

Hi,

You can go to Strathaven Airfield - Microlight Flying, and Home of the Scottish Flying Club (http://www.strathavenairfield.co.uk/wind.html) for our airfield's response to the local council's issue of Supplementary Planning Guidance on Renewable Energy.

You will see the draft pdf a little down the page.

(The council's Local Plan was ammended between Final Draft and Adopted to expand Europe's largest onshore wind farm so as it covered out airfield!)

We already had a 3km radius safeguarding plan lodged with the council.

We are now preparing a "wind turbine" safeguarding plan, as recommended by the CAA. For this, we will be lloking at a 5km radius. The point is that the unseen wake vortices may penetrate the 3km radius - so cause an obstruction within 3km of the airfield (even though that obstruction is "invisible").

Key points:

The CAA states there is no knowledge of flight trials anywhere in the world. So - you are not against wind energy, you are against anything that will make the airfield ususeable, unless the developer can prove otherwise with full flight trials.

Second: in planning, to get change of use, from - say - a sports field to housing, you have to show there is no more need for the sports field. Same for an airfield to wind farm. So the healthier you can show your club and business, the better.

Get in there with the councillors now! They like to feel they know what is going on, so keep them on top and on side. Remember, once someone has made up their mind, it is hard to change it.

Although this is Scottish law, in planning it is very similar in England and Wales.

PM me if I can give any more help.

[Justiciar]

I would be asking about the terms of the airfield operator's lease. A landlord cannot "derrogate from its grant"; i.e. it cannot grant a lease of an airfiled and then do something which in effect removes the benefit of what has been granted under the lease. The second point is that the lease will be protected as a business tenancy under the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954, unless the lease was specifically excluded from the Act at the time it was granted (there is a special procedure for doing this). This Act restricts the ability of the Landlord to recover possession at the end of the lease and gives the tenant the right to a new lease, save in limited circumstances.

[Sir George Cayley]

Watch out for Solar Farm applications. If they produce a lot of power they are counted as a power station and can miss out some of the planning process.

A recent change has made collecting sunshine v profitable. It'll turn more than Enstone's owners head.

Sir George Cayley

[A and C]

An airfield near me has been approached by the solar power company's and each time they are told that they are not wanted they come back with a better offer.

The airfield owners want to run an airfield and be in the aviation business however as the offers from the solar power people seem to increase at the same rate as the adminisrative burden from EASA rises so eventualy shutting up shop and pi**ing off with the money to a villa in the South of France will become the only option.

[Winniebago]

Solar farms - 35 acres/5MW-approx. - £13m up front, return after 9-10 years but 25 year life span of panels and in a decade's time the money just keeps rolling in for doing zilch. To get the best feed-in rate though you've got to do the deal right now, no more time left to waste.

Running airfield - 10 more years, resurfacing, repairs, hassle, peppercorn rent always considering redevelopment of brownfield site, constant demand for new housing with incentives to build 'affordable housing'.

Quiet little airfield is lowest on list of options for freeholder.

Not good omens on this front - unless you can have both solar farm and keep the runway?

[Sir George Cayley]

Can you do a reeaaal gentle landing on a solar panel runway? ;)

SGC

[Footless Halls]

I'll be there. Actually Sir George's point is a good one. There's a lot of space at an airfield which one does not (normally) fly from. Why not coexist?