Paul Griffiths 2

Hi Kevin. Can't argue with the previous posts in any way, only to add that we at our club currently pay £85.00 per annum for 2acres of a 6acre field with just over 60 members. I cannot understand the farmers reasoning to want to return the land to general farming use after 25 years. When we went hunting for a new sight over the past two years it didn't take us long to find out that the highest amount of revenue for a farmer to realise from one acre of land was no more than £600.00 and this amount has to take into account the time and costs involved to get to reap the crop. We pay our landlord £1600.00 rent for 11months use (the field is rented out for an event over the August bank holiday) Attilio has appoint, try and find out from the farmer if he will reconsider by offering more cash before you need to scurry around for a new site. regards. Paul.

Hi Nigel. First off, don’t assume that you will not achieve your applications for planning permission. We had similar naysayers at our Club whose crystal balls were off kilter as was proved 2 years later when we gained change of use! Your committee will find Andy Symons at the BMFA (Club Liaison Officer) most helpful with all the right information to hand. As far as planning consultants go, we found that the going rates for these guys can be eye wateringly heavy. We negotiated a deal whereby the consultant supplied the ammo and the committee did the working of the AK7 so to speak. This more than halved the cost of a consultant. Depending on what your guys feel that they can cope with, the consultant can take over the other bits. There are quite a number of references on the web where guys have put up pages describing their experiences with the authorities and gaining some if not all of their requirements for a flying site. Even “green belt” land is not sacrosanct, it is not unknown for flying clubs to occupy a prime agricultural field without too many onerous conditions. Regards. Paul.