A legal dispute over the future of Dunsfold Airfield in Surrey has moved to Londons High Court.
Local residents of the villages of Dunsfold and Alfold are seeking to block moves which could lead to redevelopment of the site. They are asking one of the countrys top judges to reinstate a condition that when British Aerospace plc cease using the 408 acre aerodrome at Stovold’s hill as an airfield, buildings on the site should be demolished and it should revert to agricultural use.
The aerodrome has 500,000 sq ft of buildings and has been used by British Aerospace for the production, repair and flight testing of military aircraft. The firm has been the largest private employer in the borough.
The villagers claim that since the Canadian Air Force turned the farmland into an emergency airfield in the second world war, the operators, planning authorities and local residents have carried on operations on the site on the basis that the buildings would be removed and the site returned to agriculture once its use for aviation ended.
They claim that this has been a condition of a series of temporary planning permissions that have been granted for the site, and that it was a requirement of the permission granted to British Aerospace in 1998 that was to run until 2020.
However, in April this year Waverley Council removed the condition, with the effect that the land will not return to agricultural use even if the facility is ultimately sold on by British Aerospace.
The residents say this has presented British Aerospace with a “windfall” of an unencumbered piece of land to market at an enhanced rate, and are asking Deputy Judge Sir Richard Tucker to quash the decision and force the matter to be reconsidered.
Christopher Lockhart-Mummery QC, counsel for the villagers, argues that the council proceeded on the assumption that another operator for the aerodrome would be found to continue to provide employment, but that they had failed to investigate the matter and had produced no evidence for the assumption.
He said that the council has taken the marketability of the site with the condition attached into account, which was an immaterial consideration, and had failed to give adequate reasons for their decision.
He also argued that his clients had a legitimate expectation that the land would return to farming use when British Aerospace stopped operating.
Nigel MacLeod QC, for the council, argues that the only legitimate expectation in law was that the council would give full consideration to avoiding any adverse environmental impact.
He said that the council had made the factors they considered in their decision clear, including the consideration that the condition was deterring potential users from showing any interest in buying the aerodrome and providing jobs.
The hearing continues.
PLS News 28/11/00
