A dispute between a landowner and the Lake District National Park Authority over the use of land near Penrith as a commercial airstrip is set to continue.
Rodger Savage has appealed a decision by the Lake District National Park Authority to issue an enforcement notice over the use of land next to Croft House in Berrier for the landing and taking off of light aircraft such as gyroplanes and gyrocopters.
An appeal letter submitted on behalf of Mr Savage states he is appealing on the grounds the breach of control alleged in the enforcement notice has not occurred as a matter of fact and at the time the enforcement notice was issued, it was too late to take enforcement action against the matters stated in the notice.
The LDNPA refused an application in September to grant a certificate of lawful development for the use of the land as an aerodrome after an initial application was lodged in 2021 and issued an enforcement notice.
A report by planning officers concluded: “On the balance of probabilities, that over and above the use considered to be lawful in 2012, and again in 2014, a further material change of use of land has taken place without the necessary planning permission.
“This is on the basis of the increase in commercial activity associated with the operation of Lake District Gyroplanes.
“This commercial activity results in additional comings and goings, additional people being on the land and a different pattern of flying activity, with more flights, multiple flights on a single day and dual flights taking place.”
According to the grounds of appeal statement the LDNPA do not dispute the use of land for landing and taking off gyroplanes is lawful, but they state the ‘increased commercial nature’ has resulted in a material change of use of the land.
The grounds of appeal statement says the use of the land has no outward visible presence through parked aircraft, advertising or directional signs, runway lighting or ground markings except for the obligatory H for helicopter landings which is set into the ground.
The document added: “Due to the low scale nature of the use, there are no distinctive markings and the ground retains its natural agricultural character; the land is in permanent use for sheep grazing which is typical of the wider locality and livestock are only cleared when the runway is to be used.
“Moreover, due to the nature of the weather in the north fells of the Lake District, flying is limited and those periods of inactivity enable the land to retain its natural condition. It is interesting to note that whilst flying from this airfield has been continuous but limited by demand and weather, since 1996, nearly 30 years, the land has not been adversely affected in any form or the character of the World Heritage Site has not been reduced.”
According to planning documents Mr Savage first started using the site in 1996 and in 2011 the runway was extended into a neighbouring field before in 2012 he bought the land.
In 2012 the declared usage in terms of aircraft movements was around 100 per year. Since then, the figure has fluctuated, increasing slightly to a maximum of 165 movements a year and the land has been a registered airfield for over 10 years.
The application for a certificate of lawfulness received 11 comments of support and 14 individual letters of objection as well as objections from Mungrisdale Parish Council and Cumbria Wildlife Trust.
The report from planning officers stated: “Representations received variously refer to a significant increase, a massive increase, and an alarming increase in the number of flights, and while anecdotal, indicate that the number of flights increased during the period 2015-2017.
The grounds of appeal statement says that the LDNPA has been investigating the site since 2017 but chose not to take enforcement action until 2023.
The statement added: “The six-year period between 2017 and the service of the notice in 2023, despite exaggerated complaints from neighbouring properties many of whom had had flights, including noise, were not challenged by the LDNPA.
“Nevertheless, the expiration of those years resulted in the lawful use accepted to be in existence in 2014 continuing up to the point when the use was formally challenged in the 2023 enforcement notice.”
The appeal has been lodged with the Planning Inspectorate and no date has been set on a decision as of yet.
