Common Land FAQs

The land occupied by Blackbushe Airport is owned by Falcon Propco 4 Ltd. It is leased to Blackbushe Airport Ltd who operate the active airport. Both Falcon Propco 4 Ltd and Blackbushe Airport Ltd are owned by Sir Peter Ogden. Sir Peter is an aircraft owner, and has owned aviation businesses previously, including a business jet operator.

Sir Peter was the primary shareholder in Blink, the air taxi service based at Blackbushe Airport between 2008 and 2018. However, in 2016 Blink Ltd was sold to a French operator of similar aircraft, Wijet. At this point the Blackbushe Airport owners and management no longer had any involvement in Blink Ltd. After the sale, Wijet remained a tenant of Blackbushe Airport, and the aircraft remained a regular sight. Ultimately Wijet’s various operations and subsidiaries collapsed in 2018 and 2019, and Blink therefore ceased trading.

The owners of Blackbushe Airport own all of the land marked in the map below outlined in red and yellow. This includes the active airport, as well as the disused runways to the north, which the general public have free access to enjoy.

Map of Blackbushe Airport

The active airport is the area shown within the red lines on the map below.

Active Airport Map

Cottage Farm is approximately 2km to the east of Blackbushe Airport at the end of Cobbett’s Lane, Yateley.

Cottage Farm Map

BCA owned the airport for many years, but sold all of their interest in the airport and its land to the current owners in 2015. BCA no longer have any affiliation with the airport.

The market was a popular attraction for many years. It was located on the land still owned by BCA to the north of the active runway. The decision to close the market in 2015 was not that of Blackbushe Airport or its current owners.

Under BCA’s ownership the airport benefited from the use of two large hangars to the north west of the site. These were occupied by a major helicopter maintenance organisation, and brought in a substantial rental income in the hundreds of thousands of pounds. This rental income was the difference between the airport making a modest profit, and making a substantial loss.

When the airport was sold in 2015, BCA did not offer for sale these hangars, as they had a value to them supporting their auction business. This immediately put a substantial hole in the airport finances, dragging it into a signficant loss. Since that time, we’ve worked hard to bring the business back to a break-even basis, but the airport is vulnerable to sudden spikes in weather which can easily push it back into loss.

Most other airports receive a rental income that accounts for around 50% of their revenue. This ensures they have a guaranteed income, and are not vulnerable to weather and other factors that might cause aircraft operations to fluctuate. At Blackbushe, our rental income accounts for 11.5% of our revenue, and we do not have a stable income source.

Blackbushe Airport has a vision for the future of the airport to ensure the business is sustainable. This involves upgrading the current facilities, and adding hangars and other facilities. The current status of the land means it is prohibited to build new structures of any kind.

No, there is no intention to de-register any of the land outside the red area marked on the map. The area that is being proposed to be exchanged is a part of the active aerodrome land over which there has been no free access to the public since the airport was built in 1941.

It is an active airfield, over which there is no right of access to the public under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. In addition, various pieces of aviation legislation prevent any uncontrolled access.

The proposed exchange area does not include the area to the north of the runway. This is the area of the Common to which the public have enjoyed free access for many years, and includes the disused runways. There are no plans to apply to change this.

In 2023 Blackbushe signed an 11 year lease with the RSPB who are currently formalising plans to manage the land (subject to Countryside Stewardship funding) and improve the habitats for protected species.

The hangars that sit to the north of the runway are owned by BCA and sit entirely within their land. There is no opportunity for Blackbushe to acquire these now or in the future.

There are a few polyhangars on the site, but whilst these shelter aircraft, none of them are water-tight. Given the age of most of the GA aircraft operated in the UK, hangarage is important to prevent corrosion.

There are two ways to remove common land status from a piece of land. The most frequently used is a land exchange. This was our initial and favoured option, however after exploration in 2016, it was not viable for our situation

114.87 acres of land are not immediately available adjacent to Yateley Common. Most land in Yateley is either already built on, registered common, or owned by land developers who intend to develop it.

Any small pockets of land that were available either:

• Would not pass the required tests for de-registration based on Commons Act criteria (location suitability etc)

• Would not be sufficient for the required development

Despite the above, we continued researching local land ownership, attempting to contact owners, and to negotiate to purchase suitable exchange land. In 2020 a large parcel of land near Kit’s Croft became available, but was purchased by a housing developer.

In 2021 we were able to negotiate and secure the purchase of Cottage Farm. This sits on 40 acres, with approximately 35.3 acres that is suitable for land exchange.

The planning system and the Commons Act 2006 are two entirely different areas of legislation. As an airport and a statutory undertaker, we are able to build any aviation related structures without the need for planning permission, as such developments fall under permitted development rights.

However, such permitted development rights conflict with the Commons Act 2006 which prohibits works of any kind on a common land. Whilst there is a process for seeking permission for works on common land, the act only provides a mechanism to do so to support normal common land activities, such as the management of livestock, or the maintenance of footpaths..

There is no mechanism at all for seeking planning permission to build airport infrastructure on land registered as common.

At a meeting of the Blackbushe Airport Consultative Committee on the 3rd October 2018, this question was raised by Cllr David Simpson, the then Hampshire County Councillor for Hartley Wintney & Yateley West (Lib Dem).

Unfortunately under the Commons Act 2006, there are no provisions which allow for the discretion of the secretary of state. It is also currently not the policy of the Secretary of State to permit such a development. See the Common Land Consents Policy (last revised November 2015).

If a secretary of state were to offer such permission, this would be without precedent, and subject to legal challenge by opposition (which we anticipate would be likely). In matters such as this, the Secretary of State defers such decisions to the Planning Inspectorate who can decide a case on the facts presented, and without political bias.

As such, we believe an application to deregister and exchange is the most appropriate way for the issue to be resolved.

The owners of Blackbushe Airport have no intention of developing Blackbushe into anything other than a General Aviation airport. For the past decade the shareholders have been involved with Blackbushe, and been seeking to develop the potential that is clearly available. They have presented this plan in the vision document, and have of course been frustrated the common land status has prevented them from realising it so far.

Simply removing the common land status does not immediately expose the airport to development for other uses. Any such development would be subject to a change of use application, as well as full planning consent granted by the local authorities. The local authorities have been very clear in their desire to see Blackbushe retained as an airport and not developed for housing or other purposes.

This is confirmed in Policy NBE1 of the Hart Local Plan to 2032 (adopted April 2020), as well as Policy YDFNP13 of the Yateley, Darby Green, and Frogmore Neighbourhood Plan.

The National Planning Policy Framework also places an obligation on local councils to:

“recognise the importance of maintaining a national network of general aviation airfields", and their need to adapt and change over time - taking into account their economic value in serving business, leisure, training and emergency service needs, and the Government’s General Aviation Strategy”

National Planning Policy Framework Sept 2023 Paragraph 104 section (f)

The site at Blackbushe does not conform with government planning strategy which favours the gradual expansion of existing towns and villages through sustainable developments. Blackbushe Airport is bounded by common to the North and East, by BCA and the Castle Bottom Nature Reserve to the West, and by Minley Manor and the Gibraltar Barracks to the south, and so any development would be isolated and would not have any community amenities on which to rely.

It is extremely unlikely that the Blackbushe site could ever be used for housing.

We can’t ever offer any guarantees on this, nobody can foresee what challenges or changes might happen. What do believe the future of Blackbushe as an Airport will be secure based on the following:

1. We have a committed owner who has other similar businesses within this industry. This is viewed as a generational asset, not as a business to be grown and sold on.

2. The airport as it is has planning permission for use for aviation purposes. Any change of this use would be subject to planning approval by local councils.

3. We anticipate within the planning stage for the proposed developments, that the Local Planning Authority will likewise ensure the hangars and other structures are likewise restricted to aviation use.

4. Within the Hart Local Plan and Yateley Neighbourhood Plan there are specific policies which support the development of Blackbushe Airport as an aerodrome and oppose other uses.

5. Blackbushe Airport is surrounded by SSSI and SPA land, and so any change of use of the land from aviation to other purposes would be extremely difficult to achieve.

We firmly believe the best way to protect Blackbushe Airport as an airport is to allow its development.

This won’t change. We’re committed to allowing the public to use the airport car park (during operational hours), and this won’t change with the new development. The entrance to the car park will be moved slightly and made safer with the provision of a protected right turn lane.

No. Cobbetts Lane beyond Leafy Oak Farm is a bridleway only except for Cottage Farm and Follyfoot Farm which have rights of access by vehicle. The public are not permitted to take vehicles beyond Leafy Oak Farm. The yard at Cottage Farm will remain a private part of the property.

The Replacement Land will be accessible via key points in the boundary which interact with bridleways or some of the informal paths over the common.

Providing a car park might encourage more people to use the common. HCC and other parties who manage the common recognise it is important to balance the rights of access, with the need to create biologically diverse habitats. Therefore it’s important the Replacement Land does not encourage a significant increase in people using the common, but rather serves as an additional area for those already using the common to use, reducing the burden & disturbance on established habitats.

This was considered. Having spoken with Hampshire County Council it was clear the have little resource to be able to manage additonal land, with council resources already stretched, this isn’t something they would want to take on.

Simply providing the council with funding for the management isn’t an optimal solution either, as it is dedicated resource which is in short supply. The danger with this approach is that the funding goes to the council but they’re unable to effectively use it because of a lack of resource, or more pressing concerns on other sites within their management.

From our perspective, we don’t want the residents to become frustrated that the land isn’t being properly managed where we’ve provided funding but the management is outside of our control.

We believe the best solution is the one we’ve proposed:

1. A 15 year Enviromnental Management Plan (EMP) to secure the establishment and integration of the replacement into the common, and the development over time of habitats.

2. Funding for the works required will come from the income the telecoms masts already provide to the land.

3. A Section 106 agreement granting Hampshire County Council enforcement responsibilities if we don’t follow the EMP.

4. HCC & Natural England input into the annual reporting and plans to ensure the establishment of the land is sympathetic to surrounding designations such as SSSI and SPA.

5. Regular reporting to the Yateley Common Management Committee, giving the local community an opportunity to influence the future direction of the EMP and hold us accountable.

We remain open to accomodating third parties who have a desire to undertake projects on the land, or who are interested in being actively involved in the management of the land.

The application is a land exchange. So the replacement land (Cottage Farm) will only be made accessible when the release land (the Airport) is removed from the Common register. This will be by an order made by the planning inspectorate (if the application is approved).

We anticipate that following a decision to approve the exchange, that within 3 months the replacement land will be accessible. This is because there is a 3 month period in which any parties can appeal, and so we cannot take actions within this period to open up the replacement land, nor can we commence works on the airport site. Once this appeal window has passed we anticipate opening the land immediately by removing fences at key access points, with the remaining fences being removed over the following few weeks. Works will also be undertaken to install signage and wayfinding posts, as well as to ensure the access at key points is improved where required.

There is no intention to register rights of way over Cottage Farm. The rights afforded under CROW 2000 as well as through a S192 deed will afford the public rights of access over the entirety of the land.

As the replacement land is allowed to establish, it is likely that 'desire paths' will form along routes frequented by the public. We will then use these to inform the layout of the replacement land, mowing the paths to promote their use, and allow surrounding areas to establish as habitats, free from being trodden down by human activity. We expect these paths to become more defined over several years, and that they will connect with the surrounding rights of way network.