A ‘disappointed’ flying club has been denied in their mission to gain hangar space at the airstrip in Wigan.
The Lancs Aero Club wanted a place for their members to store their aircraft when they land at the site on Kenyon Hall Farm Airstrip, off Winwick Lane. Wigan Council decided that the 14x11 metre hangars would be inappropriate development on a greenbelt and would be a blot on the landscape.
The club’s chairman and his members believe this refusal and the reasons given are wrong.
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At the moment, members of the club have to store their planes in different locations, usually for hundreds of pounds a month - which is money in the pocket of other flying clubs. The four hangars could store one to two aircraft in them at a time, the design and access statement said.
“I was very disappointed [with the planning refusal] because an airfield without hangars is not going anywhere,” club chairman Cliff Mort said.
“I think they are wrong and I don’t think we would create a nuisance. We have a planning consultant and will take his advice.
“I want to talk to the planning officers and ask them why they have refused us. They think it is inappropriate development, well I think it is appropriate.
“An airfield needs to have aircraft. The farmer is trying to diversify and this is why he has let us in here.
“The landlord has been very accommodating. He was behind us with the hangars and we wouldn’t get anywhere without his backing.
“We are a sport. We are just sportsmen, so it was very disappointing that they rejected us on what seemed to me to be very flimsy excuses.”
The club believes that the reasons for refusal by Wigan Council make no sense as the four proposed hangars would look similar to the agricultural units already in the area. They said that this space could help them thrive when it comes to gaining more members - because most airstrips usually have a place to store vehicles.
The club is keen to help the next generation of pilots and have big plans in the future to run events and flying experiences - but this planning refusal from the council has been a setback. The site currently borders Warrington and St Helens.
An officer’s report suggests that despite the application having ‘some’ recreational benefit, it does not meet the criteria to be an exception for development on a green belt. This is a point the club also disputed as they already occupy the space and fly from the site.
The avid flyers also want to stress that there is a shortage of commercial pilots at the moment and that grass root clubs like theirs are where people can start on that journey. They have had a number of former members who have gone on to become airline pilots after their time with Lancs Aero Club. They have invested tens of thousands into the site since being granted permission for a runway more than five years ago - and this decision is a sting to the club.
The club’s members are all passionate about their sport and fly all over the UK and Europe. Tony Bennett, one member, took his personal plane on a holiday to Italy over the course of several days seeing multiple sites across the country.
Martyn Coles built his own RV-8 Aircraft from scratch and flew it into Wigan from Shrewsbury, where he keeps it stored. The two-man plane was enough to fit him and fellow pilot Tony Bennett as they jetted back to the Welsh border in as little as 20 minutes.
The next step for the club, established in 1922 by John F. Leeming, is not clear but they believe this latest decision makes their future a little hazier.
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