For the first time, since this blog started, the RSPB will be involved in a public inquiry. The case revolves around a planning permission issued by Newport City Council in the late 1990s allowing the use of a grass landing strip for aircraft flown by the family and friends of the applicant. The land involved was part of the Whitson Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) on the Gwent levels in South Wales.
Over time the operation grew, the runway was given a hard surface and buildings erected to house aircraft. Once alerted to the breach of planning conditions, the local authority ordered the removal of the buildings and surfacing prompting the operator to apply for retrospective planning permission. This was refused.
This chain of events triggered the need for a public inquiry which has already been started and adjourned when it became clear that the scale and range of activities underway went beyond the terms council’s original enforcement notice. Indeed the aerodrome development may even have failed to follow the terms of the original limited permission!
The RSPB fully supports Newport City Council’s line (which is to seek closure of the aerodrome operation) and we will be giving evidence in relation to the potential for disturbance to the nearby Newport wetlands, the wider Gwent levels and the Severn Estuary Special Protection Area.
The inquiry re-convenes on 20 October – so book your ringside seat now!