I’ve just received the following communication from another aviation group which may be of interest:
We recently received correspondence from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on General Aviation. They write:
I know you care about General Aviation, but we also know it’s been under considerable pressure in recent years; not least through the nation’s precious airfields being closed for other development. Given that General Aviation supports tens of thousands of high-tech jobs and growth in the UK, from training through business aviation, we want you to help – and now the perfect opportunity has arisen.
The Government has just released its draft revised national planning policy. It’s called the National Planning Policy Framework, or NPPF. And thanks to the APPG on GA (and many other organisations); they have included a new paragraph to specifically recognise General Aviation Airfields for the first time ever.
This is very good news… but it doesn’t go far enough
That’s why we are proposing four further small tweaks. You’ll find them on our website at www.generalaviationappg.uk/nppf – if you agree simply add your name and address and submit the proposed NPPF changes which could provide a massive boost to UK GA. We will automatically forward these onto the consultation the Government are undertaking.
Your support right now would be hugely appreciated by thousands involved in Aviation. Remember without General Aviation our overall Aviation Sector can’t survive and we will lose £60 billion a year from the UK economy.
Matthew Bolshaw
Public Liaison Officer to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on General Aviation.
If you care about General Aviation, go ahead and give 60-seconds of your time by completing this consultation response
Very sad news: Gama have announced officially that they are stopping GA operations at Fairoaks. They say this is driven by the threats to the long term use of the airfield, which have made recruiting difficult and investing in the facilities unjustifiable. So it becomes even harder to justify keeping the airfield open… Circle of doom.
