[AlanC]

How anyone can be that stupid as to spend the money involved in ending up in the High Court and be making arguments like that, it defies belief.

Have you spent long in aviation/around aviation company operators ? Sarcasm very definitely not directed at you, rather at the significant number of operators who would end up in the High Court in very similar circumstances/with similar arguments. Unfortunately aviation (especially the lighter end) runs on sentiment just as much as on logic, and as nice as that often is we do need a core of logic behind it to keep going.

[PlaneStupid]

If OS is ‘open for business and looking forward to welcoming visitors’ why the heck wasn’t it doing it years ago, rather than wasting colossal amounts of money over the last 20 years pursuing a unrealistic planning proposal?

They closed in petulance last October, clearly confident they would get their own way but are now reverting back to Plan A, having alienated their main source of income - GA. I hope for the airfield’s sake they haven’t completely lost all goodwill.

They always maintained that flying could only continue if building was approved but I’m glad to see they are now very confident and buoyant about the future anyway. Clearly, the development wasn’t quite as vital to ongoing operations as implied.

Very positive news for such an historic site.

[Gustosomerset]

The score so far: 3:0
(Planning consent refused: Council 1 - Developer - 0
Appeal refused: Secretary of State 1 - Developer - 0
Judicial review refused: High Court 1 - Developer - 0)

As the judge politely put it today: "A statement of common ground, absent in the present case...would be crucial in any future dialogue, as something on which the parties could build... should there really need to be any future proceedings."

Which I read as: "One must hope that, at some point, the developers may start acting like grown-ups".

[Sooty25]

It seems it will only ever be an airfield. Maybe get it valued on that basis, which is obviously a lot less than building land, and offer to take it off their hands.

Back to my group purchase idea!

[Gustosomerset]

I think the council and perhaps a majority of the locals are open to some sort of development around the airfield, so long as the airfield itself remains open (by which I mean open to GA). The developers, despite the vast expense of all the court cases so far, appear to remain deluded about the scale of development they can get away with and therefore the size of profits they can make. They may need to lose a little more money and time yet before they figure out the maths...

[welkyboy]

Someone was local flying out of Old Sarum this morning talking to Bournemouth (not the parachute aircraft)

[Dave W]

Old Sarum Airfield start legal proceedings against Wiltshire Council

OLD Sarum Airfield has started legal proceedings against Wiltshire Council for a "breach of contract"' after losing "many millions of pounds".

It comes after the Airfield lost its High Court Appeal against the refusal of planning permission to build 462 homes last week.

Old Sarum Airfield has now issued a writ against Wiltshire Council for breach of contract in relation to its plans to develop land adjacent to the airfield to secure its long term future.

The Airfield says it will also "begin the return to pre-2007 levels of flying activity as a first step, including flight training, with the goal to eventually exceed 100,000 flight movements a year".

[skydriller]

Ah, the old " If we make it look like we are building heathrow, the locals will want the houses instead " spiel... it would be funny - except it isnt..

[James Chan]

My guess is that the council won't be paying out what is claimed, as it wasn't the council who ordered the airfield's closure in 2019.

[G-BLEW]

The Airfield says it will also "begin the return to pre-2007 levels of flying activity as a first step, including flight training, with the goal to eventually exceed 100,000 flight movements a year".

100000/365/8 = 34 movements an hour, eight hours a day, 365 days a year.

Hmmm

Ian

[flybymike]

Not a prayer of 100k movements p.a.

A deliberate attempt to engender public support.

[Flyingfemme]

And a gullible journalist who had done no research?

[G-BLEW]

And a gullible journalist who had done no research?

To be fair, he/she was directly quoting a statement.

Ian

[Flyingfemme]

But they could have done the sums and thought about it?

[kanga]

The Airfield says it will also "..goal to eventually exceed 100,000 flight movements a year".

100000/365/8 = 34 movements an hour, eight hours a day, 365 days a year.

..

When Staverton was proposing its 'Runway Safety Project' (clear W end of 09/27 to create overrun area, divert entrance road away from 27, both to allow ILS on 27, both requiring planning approval), local houses were leafleted by opponents. ISTR these warning them that this would mean 'B737s every 15 minutes day and night'