Blackbushe Airport 'threatened' by common land ruling

Part of Blackbushe Airport has been designated being in Yateley Common

A High Court judge has overturned a planning inspector's decision to remove part of an airfield from the register of common land.

The land at Blackbushe Airport in Hampshire was provisionally deemed to be part of Yateley Common in 1967.

The airport successfully applied last year to deregister an area of runway adjacent to the terminal building.

It said the new ruling threatened its plans to stem "substantial" financial losses by redeveloping the site.

The disputed land, outlined in red, includes the runway adjacent to the terminal building

Blackbushe Airport grew up from the site of a World War Two RAF base which was built on requisitioned land.

It continued to be used as an airport despite being registered as common land after the war.

In 2019 planning inspector Alan Beckett granted an application to deregister the "curtilage" of the terminal building, which he defined as "the operational area" of the airport.

The airport said the ruling threatened its plans to attract new businesses to the site

The Open Spaces Society, which supported Hampshire County Council in contesting the application, said it was delighted with the new ruling.

It said Mr Justice Holgate had found the inspector's decision went "way beyond any reasonable meaning that could be given to the phrase 'the curtilage of a building'."

Hugh Craddock from the society said: "Blackbushe aerodrome is no more curtilage of the terminal building than Victoria station is curtilage of the signal box.

"The ruling supports our view that the Commons Act 2006 was never intended to deregister vast areas of common land."

Blackbushe Airport said it was disappointed with the ruling, which it said would block redevelopment, including buildings for new businesses and proper fencing.

The airport said it was considering referring the case to the Court of Appeal.

The society said if no appeal was lodged, the case would be referred back to the Planning Inspectorate to make a fresh decision.