Monday 15 June 2009

Airport application for more flights

TAG Farnborough Airport
I can confirm that we have now received an application from TAG to vary Condition 8 of their planning permission (reference APP/P1750/A/06/2024640 issued by the Secretaries of State on 13 March 2008) to allow an increase in business aviation movements from 28,000 to a maximum of 50,000 movements per annum . The application includes an increase in the number of business aviation movements at weekends and bank holidays from 5000 to 8900 per annum. We are required to make a decision on the application within sixteen weeks: otherwise, the applicant has a right of appeal to the Secretary of State. This period will expire on 29 September

As I am sure you would expect, a large public consultation exercise is planned informing everyone on the flight paths either end of the runway together with all those who made comment on the weekend flying application back in 2005/06. This will amount to over 10,000 notification letters and people will be given six weeks to respond ending on 27 July.

Details of the application can be inspected at the Council Offices or on the internet through our webpage www.rushmoor.gov.uk and by following the link Planning Application On-Line. There may be a few days delay before the information is all available on the internet.

The decision on the planning application will be made by the Development Control Committee and it is likely that this will need to be at a special meeting yet to be arranged.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What is the point of agreeing the original limits on flights if these are subsequently changed? Nothing has happened in the surrounding area that makes more flights less unacceptable now than they were before.
If TAG were unable to devise a satisfactory business plan based on the original limits that's their problem - it shouldn't be the local community's.

David Clifford said...

Gerald Howarth MP calls for needs of local residents to be balanced against the economic case for expansion at Farnborough Airport



TAG’s planning application to increase over time the number of movements at Farnborough has been expected for some weeks.

Responsibility for deciding on the application rests with the local planning authority, Rushmoor Borough Council. I am sure they will want to weigh very carefully the economic benefits to the Farnborough area (as well as to the wider South East England) identified by the Planning Inspector who last year approved the increase in weekend movements, against the undoubted concerns of some of those local residents immediately affected by operations at Farnborough, particularly regarding weekend movements.

I believe they will need to be persuaded that TAG has made a strong business case, especially at a time when the economy is experiencing the worst recession in living memory.

Although Members of Parliament have no formal role in planning matters, I take a keen interest in major issues affecting the Aldershot constituency, such as Pyestock, the Aldershot Urban Extension and the Farnborough Aerodrome, and I shall be pleased to receive any representations from constituents who can write to me at the House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA, or email me at geraldhowarth@parliament.uk.

16th June 2009