Victory for action group in battle over airfield

Residents living close to Bagby Airfield, near Thirsk, have staged a hard-fought campaign over the last four years to prevent a major development of the site.

A report published today by Local Government Ombudsman Anne Seex has concluded that Hambleton District Council failed to take action despite the airfield’s operations contravening planning permission.

It is thought to be the first case of maladministration that the council has been found guilty of in its 38-year history.

It is the latest blow for the council, which has been plunged into turmoil after its chief executive, Peter Simpson, has been placed on gardening leave following complaints over his “abusive and dominating” management style.

The Action4Refusal campaign group claimed the council would not have been in a protracted legal battle if proper planning controls had been enforced at the airfield.

A spokesman for Action4Refusal, Stephen Hornsby, maintained the council was guilty of failing to monitor the airfield adequately over the last decade. The cost of the campaign group’s battle has topped £50,000, while the council’s own legal fees are over £10,000.

Mr Hornsby, a solicitor who has a home in nearby Great Thirkleby, lodged the official complaint with the Local Government Ombudsman against the council.

He said: “It is a damning report, but it is not a decision that we take any pleasure from. It is, however, pleasing to know the ombudsman upheld pretty much all of our concerns – especially as they were rejected by the council itself.

“We have been portrayed in a negative light, that we didn’t want this happening near their homes. But we simply want the airfield to be operated within the acceptable levels, and this will now hopefully be the case.”

Ms Seex’s report found that the council missed a series of opportunities to take action to tackle the unlawful use at the airfield.

Among the issues highlighted was the council’s failure to take action against the airfield’s owner, Martin Scott – despite informing him that he needed planning permission to continue with his operations. Ms Seex also concluded an enforcement officer wrongly assessed seven years ago that planning permission granted to a previous owner in 1980 still applied.

The planning permission granted 32 years ago stipulated that 40 take-offs and 40 landings were allowed each week, but it was specific to the previous owners.

A planning inspector’s report published in June last year after the first public inquiry revealed that between 73 and 125 air traffic movements have been recorded a week at the site.

The ombudsman found the council was guilty of maladministration causing injustice and has recommended that the authority should consider taking action to try to stop the airfield’s current use. The council has also been told to provide funding of up to £5,000 for each village of Bagby and Thirkleby for community projects agreed with parish councils.

A council spokeswoman confirmed councillors will consider the report’s findings at a cabinet meeting on June 14 before making a formal response to the ombudsman.

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