Redetermination of Schedule 2 Application to Deregister land at Blackbushe Airport from Yateley Common
An inspector for the Planning Inspectorate has today issued a redetermination decision with respect to an application made in 2016 by Blackbushe Airport Ltd (BAL) to deregister land at Blackbushe Airport from the commons register Yateley Common CL24.
In the original 2016 application, it was asserted that the land in question (the entire 114.87 acres of the licensed aerodrome) lay within the curtilage of the terminal building and should be de-registered.
A public inquiry was held on 2-5 April 2019 by Inspector Alan Beckett into the application. His decision of 12 June 2019 that all of the land within the application should be de-registered was challenged by way of Judicial Review. The inspector’s decision was quashed by the High Court, and this judgment was upheld in the Court of Appeal. Leave to appeal further was refused by Order of the Supreme Court.
As the inspector’s decision was quashed, the original application needed to be re-determined. Interested parties, including Hampshire County Council (HCC), the Open Spaces Society (OSS) and Mr Peter Tipton made additional representations on what the scope of the curtilage (if any) might be. It was not in dispute that the footprints of the Terminal Building and the Cafe Building satisfied the legal test contained within Schedule 2(6) to the Commons Act 2006. No party requested a hearing, or second inquiry be held.
The inspector completed an unattended visit on the 15th August 2023. Today, 10th November 2023 he issued a decision confirming that the footprints of the Terminal Building and Cafe are to be deregistered, but that there can be no curtillage for either that satisfies the legal test defined within the act.
Blackbushe Airport welcomes the decision which finally brings to a close a legal process that has lasted for 7 years. This decision now offers clarity and from this position the airport can move forward with a separate application for deregistration and exchange which we expect to submit in early January 2024.
You can read the inspector’s full decision here: