Eshott Airfield owners lodge bid to allow training and fuelling of military and emergency services aircraft

Bockenfield Aerodrome has been in long-running discussions with Northumberland County Council (NCC) over restrictions imposed on the airfield.

They include a ban on emergency and military aircraft landing except in emergencies, pilots not being allowed to land before 9am and vehicles not being allowed to move on the site after 7pm.

A planning application seeking permission to amend operating hours from 7am to 11pm and allow the training and fuelling of military and emergency services aircraft aims to overcome those issues.

The application, which also seeks retrospective permission for the on-site cafe along with a tipi-style marquee for events, has already attracted more than 100 letters of support, along with a handful of objections.

A planning report on the applicant’s behalf states: ‘The airfield has supported the military and emergency services for a number of years. This is well documented including use of the site in hours of darkness during emergency situations.

‘The airfield will apply to exclude military and emergency service aircraft from all operational restriction of the 5700kg at Eshott Airfield. There will remain restrictions on the number of Chinook and Merlin aircraft types.’

It continues: ‘The airfield has operated under restricted hours for some years. These are flying hours of 9am to 7pm. Other local airfields do not have these restrictive hours.

‘The hours currently restrict use of aircraft and machines on the site prior to 9am which is causing an unsustainable confusion between NCC and Eshott Airfield.

‘As the airfield has been told by NCC Enforcement that they are responsible for individual pilots actions, the airfield will submit to change the operating hours of the site to 7am to 11pm to reduce the likelihood of an early or late arrival outside of our control.

‘The airfield will retain its core aircraft operating hours of 9am to 7pm.’

The airfield, operational since it was used as a Spitfire training base in World War Two, is now home to around 70 aircraft with up to 100 aircraft movements a day in busy periods.

Activity at the airfield sustains 17 full-time jobs and 16 part-time jobs on site and there are also a number of volunteers.

Among the 122 letters of support, Andrew Cumiskey from Newcastle writes: “Eshott Airfield provides an essential landing site for aircraft conducting emergency operations in the area and military training. Being able to fuel at Eshott will prevent unnecessary delays to responding to emergencies and could save lives.”

But Eshott resident George Simm writes: “Allowing large military aircraft to be refuelled simply means increasing the noise nuisance. And the applicant attempting to paint a picture of his small airfield being a critical part of the UK's military and Coastguard operations is delusional.”

The council has previously said the airfield can be used for ‘genuine emergencies’ but is not currently permitted for regular commercial refuelling of heavy aircraft.

They add that conditions covering hours of operation and noise levels are intended to strike a balance between operational flexibility and protecting the amenity of local residents.