Bury Model Flying Club, Bury St Edmunds

Affiliated to the British Model Flying Association

Club News Rougham 

Rougham Airfield, our use at risk June 2022

Ian McDowell

I was approached the other day whilst at the Rougham site by Andrew, from Skyward. He told me that there is a consultation in progress, by West Suffolk Council, on the future of the airfield site.

Bear in mind that a major builder, Crest Nicholson, hold options from Rougham Estates for Rougham Airfield. In 2020 they made it abundantly clear that there were better uses for the site than ‘infrequent’ flight training. (Note 1, below)

Timescale:

The current ‘West Suffolk Local Plan (Regulation 18) Preferred Options’ consultation (Note 2), completes on 26 July 2022 at 5pm. This appears to be a pre-cursor to a very detailed plan that will follow and may or may not be what Andrew was referring to.

My investigations to date:

So far, the best I can find is a vast quantity of ‘generalised’ information on a site that West Suffolk refer to as their ‘Virtual Exhibition Room’ (https://westsuffolk.inconsult.uk/WSLP_Preferred_Options/consultationHome – and press on the link) . Tough if the IT phases you, the last face to face exhibition was Wednesday 29 June, in Bury market.

To be fair, the council – and presumably every other council in England – has been given a large and spectacularly complex task. West Suffolk appear to be going about it in stages – outline, detail, done deal.

But for us and our flying activities I’m not sure complacency is an option. I have written to the council asking if there is any specific detail relating to Rougham Airfield. From my conversation with Andrew this seems likely, but all I can find so far is this extract from pp14 of the ‘Opportunity & Constraints Study, May 2022’ (Note 3):

‘At Rougham Airfield the amount of land available suggests the area could accommodate employment and housing, with suitable accessible natural greenspace (SANG) and new community infrastructure. However, an appropriate safeguarding buffer should be provided to protect the setting of the listed control tower and radar rooms and other sensitive features. Potential area of opportunity on the eastern edge of the town at Rougham Airfield has been identified.’

(West Suffolks’ bold type)

Note (1)

Issues and Options Consultation Response, Crest Nicholson, 2020 – Section 3.18:

  • The Site is currently infrequently used as an airfield with limited opportunities for leisure and recreation use by the wider community. The current use of the Site is very restrictive for such leisure and recreational uses given the safety concerns. We therefore consider that the current allocation is no longer suitable for the Site and that an alternative approach should be taken to more efficiently use the land to provide market and affordable housing to meet identified needs, whilst providing new areas of publically accessible open space and opportunities for leisure and recreation.

Note (2) – extract from the West Suffolk ‘Virtual Exhibition Room’:

What is a local plan?

This consultation draft sets out our preferred approach to growth in West Suffolk including where new homes would be built and where new jobs will be located.

The West Suffolk local plan, which covers the period 2021 to 2040 and will eventually become a legal planning document, allocates and guides where land is protected and where growth might take place.

The local plan also contains the policies that secures the delivery of affordable housing, new play areas and public open space, supported by infrastructure such as improvements to health and educational facilities, as well as roads.

Why do we need a local plan?

Without a plan, development can and will still happen – but the council and the residents will have less of a voice and less certainty over the council’s approval or refusal of applications that come forward. Without an up-to-date local plan, the council won’t be able to prevent inappropriate, speculative development from taking place. That in turn means less protection for greenfield sites and the countryside, fewer safeguards to stop employment land being used for housing, as well as inappropriate garden and infill developments and other development that negatively impacts on local communities

Note (3)

This document is ‘on the table’ in West Suffolks ‘virtual consultation room’ (on the right of the table, ‘Supporting Documents’, 4th item in the list. Any keen readers of ‘The Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Galaxy’ may see a resemblance here.