From here
PCL is now legal at licensed airfields in the UK. Sadly the damage was done decades ago and now they are all held back by the safety brigade.
However I do think things are slowly changing there are a few airfields close to me that now have PCL but all of them come with restrictions. Mates only, no circuits and limited hours of operation.
Hopefully by the time GA finally dies in the UK it will have opened up and be useful.
PCL is now legal at licensed airfields in the UK.
Is there a reference?
There was a consultation on this in 2014.
It was always legal at unlicensed airfields but due to a very successfully spread FUD almost nobody knew this, and installations were done covertly.
I have no reference. Ive just assumed it is as I know of 3 licensed airfields that now have it. One of which I have used out of hours.
I’ve been to an unlicensed airfield where the lighting system was light bulbs in jam jars :-) (Also happens in the US – Weiser Air Park had light bulbs in mason jars for its PCL).
At LFFK we used to use battery powered hurricane lamps and it has been known to use 2 or 3 cars parked along the side of the runway. I don’t think it quite lives up to the definition of PCL and we haven’t done this for many years, whether that it down to regulations or not I don’t know.
I can’t see it getting much traction, mainly because in the UK this weird ’it’s special thing’ mentality exists regarding flying after dark.
Even White Waltham, which is incredibly relaxed about nearly everything, makes a massive deal out of it. They have a portable lighting system which they put out on one runway on certain weekday evenings through the winter. They promulgate via email to members that this special thing ‘night flying’ is happening – you have to book and pay a supplement even if using your own aircraft. There is no concept of the airfield just being operational as normal with the runway lights on.
I can’t see this changing. People are too hung on whatever duty of care they believe exists.
They you have the silly debate about whether CRIs can instruct at night, and a bizarre view that any instruction that might happen to occur at night is by definition instruction in ‘night flying’, even if the person under instruction already holds a night rating.
Which is why its such a shame PCL got banned by some expert decades ago. If it was allowed from day 1 then it might be like it is in the states in the UK.
PCL is available in Redhill & Fairoaks which are licensed but you have to pay lot and sign lot of paper for it
I think UK PCL falls in the same category as PPR, OHJ, ATZ clearance by A/G, booking ILS/takeoff and the night CRI thingy that Graham mentioned (which apparently not applicable to B747 TRIs or CRI/ME+IRI who don’t hold FI+night but still do lot of night teaching 
)
We still have Calais nearby in UK SE, with a simple phone call, AD MGR & PAF were happy for two UK pilots (both CRIs & night qualified ahem) to come and have “a night circuits party” on their PCL, 10+10 each before heading back to the UK, crossing the channel by night was the scary bit but again not everybody plate
