2014
COURT OF APPEAL (CRIMINAL DIVISION)
United Kingdom
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The appeal concerns the refusal to grant an LDC for unrestricted aviation activities at Dunsfold Aerodrome. The court upheld previous findings that the 1951 permission did not allow such activities, recognized a material use change post-2000, and confirmed the implementation of 2008 planning permissions.
J U D G M E N T
LORD JUSTICE SULLIVAN:
Introduction
This is an appeal from the order dated 3 July 2013 of Foskett J dismissing the Appellant's application under section 288 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 ("the Act") to quash an Inspector's decision dated 5 April 2012 dismissing the Appellant's appeal under section 195 of the Act against the Second Respondent's refusal to grant the Appellant's application for a Lawful Development Certificate (LDC) under section 191 of the Act.
The application for the LDC related to the airfield which forms part of Dunsfold Aerodrome at Dunsfold, Cranleigh in Surrey. I will refer to the application site as the airfield and to the larger site as the Aerodrome. The use for which the LDC was sought was the:
"Use of the application land as an aerodrome for aviation activities, including for the start up, taxiing, engine testing, ground running, take off and landing of aircraft, without condition, restriction or limitation as to:
Number of aircraft
Number of take offs and landings
Type of aircraft (whether fixed wing or rotary, civil or military, commercial or private, training or non-training and whatever the origin or destination of the flight)
Size of aircraft
Weight of aircraft
Number of crew and passengers
Type and amount of freight
Duration
Period of use (hours, days, nights, weeks, weekends etc)
Surface traffic generation
Number of employees employed on or off the application land or persons generally on or off the application land
Noise, air quality other emissions and environmental effects
Or otherwise..."
Background
The background to the appeal is set out in considerable detail in the very comprehensive judgment of Foskett J which is reported at [2013] EWHC 1878 (Admin) . It is unnecessary to repeat that detail and I gratefully adopt it.
The Inspector's decision
Much of the argument at the inquiry before the Inspector was concerned with the use of the Aerodrome on the first appointed day, 1 July 1948. It is unnecessary to consider that matter because there is now no challenge to that aspect of the Inspector's decision.
Hawker Aircraft Ltd, one of the predecessors of BAe Systems PLC ("BAe"), took over the Aerodrome in 1951. It required and obtained planning permission for its proposed use. The planning permission dated 13 April 1951 permitted the "erection, repair and flight testing of aircraft at Dunsfold Aerodrome..." It is common ground that the "erection" of aircraft was treated as