Mr M Scott, Bagby Airfield, Bagby, Thirsk, North Yorkshire, YO7 2PH
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Mr M Scott, Bagby Airfield, Bagby, Thirsk, North Yorkshire, YO7 2PH The Town and Country Planning (Inquiry Procedure)(England) Rules 2000 Appeal by Mr M Scott against the refusal of planning permission and service of Enforcement Notice relating to development at Bagby Airfield. PROOF OF EVIDENCE By Tim Wood Hambleton District Council Planning Inspectorate Reference APP/G2713/A/10/2136646/NWF APP/G2713/A/10/2123183/NWF Local Planning Authority References 10/01272/FUL 09/03959/FUL 09/04039/FUL Local Planning Authority Enforcement Notice 09/00026/ENF_A March 2011 Hambleton District Council - Tim Wood – Proof of Evidence - 1 - Contents Page Subject 5 Introduction 6 Overview 12 The Appeals 15 The main appeal 16 Planning Policy Background 17 Regional Spatial Strategy 17 Hambleton LDF Core Strategy 18 Hambleton LDF Development Policies 19 Allocation Document 20 Consideration of National Planning Policy Guidance 20 PPS1 21 PPS4 24 PPS4 and the PPS1 supplement on Climate Change 26 PPS7 27 PPG13 30 PPG18 30 PPG24 33 Consideration of the Hambleton Local Development Framework Core Strategy Policies 33 Exceptional case test CP1, CP2, CP4 35 CP15 36 CP16 37 CP21 37 Consideration of the Hambleton Local Development Framework Development Policies 37 DP1 38 DP25 38 DP30 39 DP44 39 Lawful Use 40 What evidence do we actually have? 41 Continuous use of the airfield 42 Evidence from external source – As stated on the application forms Hambleton District Council - Tim Wood – Proof of Evidence - 2 - 43 Evidence from external source - Flight data provided with the 2008 application 43 Survey data from August 2008 43 Planning Statement with the 2010 application 45 Assessment by Mr Thomas Brown of the 2008 movements report 46 Flight numbers reported by others 46 The parameters to flight numbers 48 Legal opinions 49 Conclusions on lawful use 53 Recent and Related Planning Applications 53 Issue based assessments 53 Amenity 57 Business Case 61 Landscape 65 Visual impact from Bagby Lane 65 Visual impact on Play Area and Open Space, Bagby Lane 66 Conclusions on visual amenity 66 Use of Bagby Lane by HCV’s associated with Bagby Airfield 67 Conditions 67 Enforcement Notice 68 The Ground A appeal 68 The Ground C appeal 69 The Ground F appeal 70 The Ground G appeal 70 Conclusion Table 1 Chronology of main planning history for Bagby Airfield included in this Proof Table 2 Lawful flight numbers Hambleton District Council - Tim Wood – Proof of Evidence - 3 - Appendices to this Proof 1 York Aviation statement 2 Planning history narrative and copy documents 3 Buildings with planning permission – table and plan 4 Buildings and structures without planning permission but immune from planning enforcement action – table and plan 5 Buildings and engineering operations the subject of the 2009 enforcement notice – table and plan 6 Building, use and engineering operations not included in the 2009 enforcement notice 7 Structure not requiring planning permission 8 Composite plan of those in appendices 4 - 7 9 Planning Committee report 10 The 2010 decision notice 11 Commentary on the Cala Homes decision 12 Extent of Lawful Airfield the 1976 application site boundary (planning committee report appendix 3 plan also shows this information) 13 The extended north south runway – (planning committee report appendix 5 shows this information) 14 Legal opinion David Cooper 15 Legal opinion Lockhart Mummery on instruction from David Cooper 16 Legal opinion Walker Morris on instruction from Signet planning for the appellant 17 Legal opinion Martyn Richards 18 Assessment by Thomas Brown 19 High Court Challenge to the Allocations document by Mr E Barker 20 Hambleton District Council - Enforcement and Compliance Policy (June 2008) 21 Aerial photograph of Bagby Airfield circa 1995-1997 22 Bus Routes and timetables 23 Bagby distances to nearby settlements Hambleton District Council - Tim Wood – Proof of Evidence - 4 - BAGBY AIRFIELD, BAGBY, THIRSK, NORTH YORKSHIRE, YO7 2PH Appeal by Mr M Scott STATEMENT OF Mr. Timothy J. Wood on behalf of the Local Planning Authority Introduction 1. I am Timothy John Wood. I am the Development Manager employed by the Local Planning Authority (LPA). My qualifications are BSc (Hons) Environment Planning and I am a member of the Royal Town Planning Institute. I have been employed as a planning officer with Hambleton District Council since 1989. 2. I have been the case officer in connection with this application. 3. My evidence addresses those national and development plan policies and other material considerations relevant to assessing the merits of the proposed development. The main issues covered relate to: the impact of the operation of proposed airfield development on amenity of the neighbouring population, the lack of support that the proposal would give to sustain the rural community and the harmful impact of the proposal on the visual amenity of the landscape. 4. York Aviation has been commissioned by the Local Planning Authority to provide expert advice in relation to General Aviation. The York Aviation statement appended to this proof (Appendix TW1) demonstrates that the unauthorised development will have already given rise to a significant deterioration in the amenity of the neighbouring population and the proposal has potential to further harm the amenity of population due to the increased use of the airfield. 5. Joy Swithenbank, Environmental Health Officer at Hambleton District Council will appear as an expert witness in relation to noise impact also due to the rise in the number of aircraft movements at the airfield that has arisen from the unauthorised development and which would further increase as a consequence of the development proposed. Hambleton District Council - Tim Wood – Proof of Evidence - 5 - 6. I prepared a report to the Planning Committee (Appendix 9) which proposed a grant of planning permission. My professional view has not changed. As I made explicit in my presentation to members of the Planning Committee there is more than one means of controlling the future activity at Bagby Airfield. Either approval subject to appropriate conditions or refusal of the planning applications and enforcement of the breaches of planning control could address the impacts of the current and future operation of the airfield. I considered a balanced planning judgment was required in determining the application. On balance, Members of the Planning Committee refused planning permission and my evidence seeks to explain and support the decision of the Planning Committee. 7. Overview 8. The Appeal Site (“the Site”) has an area of 17.82 hectares (44.03 acres). At one time, the Site was part of an agricultural holding. The extent of land used as the airfield has changed overtime. Initially the grass landing strip extended further west than is currently the case and was extended eastwards in April 1999. A summertime aerial photograph (Appendix 21) taken sometime between 1995 and 1997 from a position to the south west of the airfield shows the western end extending further that it does at present and further than was shown in either the 1976 or 2010 application site boundaries (see Appendix 12), the eastern extension stated to have first been in use on 1st April 1998 is evident. The aerial photograph also shows the land in the position of the current north south runway to be in cultivation and not available as a grass runway. The central area of the airfield has a longstanding use as an airfield. It was first used as a base for flying activity around the beginning of the 1970’s. A planning permission was granted on 29 July 1976 on a personal basis to two local pilots Mr Whiting and Mr J P Lassey. The description used was “Increased use of an existing grass airstrip for private flying”. Subsequent approvals have consolidated the use of the land as an airfield by the addition of hangars and facilities for refuelling and club house. Other activities have been undertaken at the airfield including the servicing and repair of aircraft though no planning permission has been granted for such use. 9. Beyond the boundaries of the site the land is in agricultural use except for the children’s play area which is located to the northern edge of the site. The Hambleton District Council - Tim Wood – Proof of Evidence - 6 - play area incorporates fixed pieces of equipment some of them raised above ground level as well seats and landscaped grounds to provide a high quality of visual as well as recreational amenity to the play area. The recreational facilities include equipment and facilities to cater for a range of ages from the young child to teenager 10. The village of Bagby is mainly to the north and north east of the appeal site. There are also dwellings to the south and south west of the appeal site that are affected by activities at the airfield. Flying activities arising from the operation of the airfield also impact upon a wider area of villages within the Vale of York particularly to the south of Thirsk. 11. The proposal is to demolish all of the old buildings on the Site except for the largest aircraft hangar and replace them with a new range of hangars and clubhouse and form new access to the site. Two modern hangars will also be retained. The scheme would result in a mixed use development comprising airfield club house and other airfield facilities including aircraft maintenance. 12. During the growth of the airfield, applications have been made for the use of the grass air strip and for the construction of hangars and fuel. Full details of the history are contained in the Appendix 2. This Appendix provides copies of the Decision Notices and a narrative relating to the proposals. 13. Key dates and events in the airfield are given below.