This meeting will consider a range of planning applications in the Thirsk and Malton area, including proposals for new houses in Stillington and a change of use application for a property in Alne Station. The most significant application in terms of scale concerns the redevelopment of Bagby Airfield.

Redevelopment of Bagby Airfield

This application, submitted by Mr M Scott, includes plans for the demolition and reconstruction of several hangars at Bagby Airfield. A new 'Museum Hangar', housing vintage aircraft, with short stay accommodation on the first floor is also proposed, along with a new clubhouse and control tower. The report pack notes that this application includes a request for retrospective planning permission for the recently constructed clubhouse¹. The applicant has also requested permission to extend the geotextile tiling used on the runway at the airfield.

The report pack states that the applicant, Mr M Scott, intends to:

“shift priority away from smaller aircraft which fly near to the Airfield, to more modern intrinsically quitter aircraft which will depart/arrive from further afield including EU or non-EU destinations.”

York Aviation, who were consulted on the application, noted:

“The proposed development is not the operational expansion of the airfield and would not result in operations at the airfield surpassing that to which they are limited under condition 13 of planning permission ref. 16/02240/FUL (the number of aircraft movements allowed within a calendar year). Rather, the expansion of the business would be in the form of increasing the quality of existing on-site facilities and providing sufficient storage space to support the goals outlined in the applicants Business Plan.”

In order to facilitate the storage of these larger aircraft, the applicant is requesting an increase in floorspace for Hangar F, from 1109 square metres to 1409 square metres. A new tractor shed, with a footprint of 600 square metres is proposed for the storage of machinery and aircraft, along with workshop space and a customs storage facility. The current tractor shed, for which planning permission was granted in 2019, has a footprint of 90 square metres. A new, permanent hangar, for the storage of aircraft is proposed to replace the two temporary hangars currently in use at the airfield. The temporary hangars were the subject of enforcement action by the council in 2020, and their use is restricted under an appeal decision made in 2022.

Bagby and Balk Parish Council object to the application. They have requested that the application be withdrawn until a full safety audit has been conducted and an Environmental Impact Assessment has been completed.

Application for variation of condition 22 of planning permission 16/02240/FUL: Bagby Airfield

This application, also submitted by Mr M Scott, relates to the recent use of the airfield by a Kodiak aircraft², which is not registered in the UK. The report pack states that the Kodiak:

exceeded the maximum take-off weight it was technically not allowed to fly in and out of Bagby Airfield.

The current wording of Condition 22 states that aircraft without a noise certificate on the UK register must not exceed a Maximum Take Off Weight (MTOW) of 2,730 KG.

The applicant has requested that Condition 22 be amended to remove this restriction, allowing aircraft like the Kodiak to be used at the airfield. They have also requested changes to the noise limits applied to aircraft using the airfield, in order to:

“encouraging modern, intrinsically quieter aircraft and reducing the number of movements of older, noisier aircraft”

The report pack notes that the applicant's proposed changes to Condition 22 would have allowed aircraft to be up to 4.9 dB louder, had they been approved.

The Council consulted Bickerdike Allen Partners (BAP) (Noise Consultants), on the proposed changes. BAP advised that:

Due to the differences in the Chapter 6 and Chapter 10 procedures the noise levels are not directly comparable, however BAP (the council’s appointed noise consultants) understand the pre-1999 Chapter 10 limits are intended to be broadly equivalent to the Chapter 6 limits. The proposed changes would therefore allow pre-1999 Chapter 10 aircraft types to be approximately as noisy as the permitted Chapter 6 aircraft types and would require post-1999 Chapter 10 aircraft types to be at least 3 dB quieter than the permitted Chapter 6 aircraft types.

They also noted that:

A change of 4.9 dB would be expected to be perceptible to residents in local communities.

The report pack states that following discussions with the Council, the applicant amended their proposed changes to Condition 22 to limit any increase in the noise limits to 3dB.

Bagby Parish Council and Thirkleby High & Low Osgoodby Parish Council object to the proposed changes to Condition 22.

Construction of 8 dwellings at land west of Owlwood House, West Lane, Stillington

This application, submitted by Ambleside Homes, concerns the construction of 8 houses on land west of Owlwood House on West Lane in Stillington. The proposed scheme comprises 1 one-bedroomed unit, 4 two-bedroomed units, 2 three-bedroomed units, and 1 four-bedroomed unit. The report pack states that the development would also include the creation of a new vehicular access to the site.

The report pack notes that the site is:

located approximately 40m to the west of Stillington, in the open countryside.

and that the applicant's proposed development:

does not accord with Policies S1, S3, S5, HG4 or HG5.

The report pack states that the application was deferred at the previous meeting of the committee, to allow for discussions with the applicant about road safety and neighbour amenity concerns. Amended plans have subsequently been submitted showing the provision of a footpath link between the site and the village. The report pack also states that the applicant has agreed to extend the 30mph speed limit in Stillington, moving the current signage 130m to the west of its current location.

Stillington Parish Council objects to the application.

Application for proposed office building at land south of Riccal Drive, Helmsley

This application has been submitted by the North York Moors National Park Authority for a new office building to house its headquarters. The building would be located on land south of Storey Close on Riccal Drive in Helmsley. The proposed development would include a workshop and vehicle storage space, car parking, a covered cycle store, and landscaping.

The site is allocated for employment uses in the Helmsley Plan. It is located to the east of the existing Historic England depot, on the south side of Riccal Drive.

The report pack states that:

The area has become somewhat more residential in character in recent years owing to the development of the area to the west of the site.

and that:

The proposed development will result in change in the locality in terms of vehicle movement and associated fumes, general noise associated with the use of the proposed development along with the change resulting in the development of a building on an otherwise open site.

However, it is concluded that:

the degree of change and the nature of the proposed development will not result in a material adverse impact or significant loss of amenity for local residents.

A number of objections have been received, including concerns about the suitability of the location, the increase in traffic, and the impact on the character of the area.