the opportunity to see their country from a vantage point normally reserved for a few. The wider viewing public has also shown a great interest in international sporting events like the World Air Games, where the best of the leisure pilots compete to represent their nations’ interests. The benefits to the UK of leisure flying cannot be easily calculated but without it the country would be the poorer in spirit, in community and in commerce.
For example, gliding offers harmony with the environment, relying on the energy of the atmosphere, yet causing no contamination in the process. An appropriate analogy is to refer to gliding as three-dimensional sailing; hence the term ‘sailplane’.
There is a strong competitive
element in gliding; currently Britain
is a world leader, with a British World Champion at The 2001 World Club Class Championships in Australia. At the other end of the age and experience range, gliding does much to encourage young people to work in teams and to take responsibilities for the safety of their fellow fliers.
GA in the Community
In common with all other forms of development in the UK, aviation is subject to planning policy. Unfortunately, there is no national policy regarding GA which would give a clear ‘steer’ to decision makers in local planning authorities. A few brief paragraphs in Central Government advice, entitled PPG13 – Transport, state “...in formulating their plan policies and proposals, and in determining planning applications, local authorities should take account of the economic, environmental and social impact of GA on local and regional economies. They should take account of the benefits of having suitable facilities within a reasonable distance of each sizeable centre of population...”
This advice (which relates solely to England but is found in similar forms in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) clearly indicates that GA should be incorporated in planning policy documents. However, this is not always the case. Attitudes towards GA vary widely from one County or Region to another. These range from inclusion of very negative policies: focussing upon one site to the exclusion of all others; simply ignoring GA completely or incorporation of a fairly balanced policy which acknowledges the issues to be taken into consideration. Two contrasting examples are given:
Surrey Structure Plan (Deposit Draft, Jan 2001)
(Extract) Draft Policy DN9 The development of new airfields or the re-opening of disused airfields WILL NOT BE PERMITTED (our highlighting). Airstrips or landing sites for private and recreational flying will only be permitted where the environmental impacts are acceptable.
Staffordshire Structure Plan
Policy T19 Proposals for the use of existing operational airfields or helicopters and the development of new facilities for private business and recreational flying will be assessed in terms of:
(a)
the impact upon the surrounding environment, landscape and local settlements;
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