Hampshire News
Model plane club won't have its wings clipped
4:00pm Saturday 28th January 2012
A MODEL aircraft club can continue to fly near Old Basing after a challenge from nearby residents was successfully shot down.
Aldershot Model Club has been using land at Blacklands Farm, off Newnham Lane, for 26 years but homeowners living close to the site complained to the council of increased noise and frequency of flights.
As a result, the club was forced to apply for a certificate of lawfulness, which was granted by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s development control committee last week.
Robert Walton, a barrister acting on behalf of the residents, said incidents such as the foot-and-mouth outbreak caused the club to twice suspend its operations, meaning that there had not been continuous 10-year use without complaint, as the council required.
He also said the model aircraft could be a danger to the small light aircraft allowed to take off and land from a different part of the field.
But Aldershot Model Club chairman Peter Carter said the two types of aircraft steered clear of one another. He said: “What the farmer does with his other fields is entirely up to him, we just need this little part of the field.”
Committee members unanimously backed the club after little debate. However, they restricted their use of the land to between 10am and 7pm or dusk – whichever is earlier.
The approval delighted Mr Carter. He said: “The right decision has been made, but we do not believe this is the end of it.” Some residents might carry on complaining, he thought.
Speaking after the meeting one of the residents, Alison Sellars, of Long Copse, said: “We are disappointed but that is the council’s decision to make.
“What is good is that there are now tougher conditions that should make an improvement. If they don’t, we will not hesitate to pick up the phone again.”