Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the General Aviation Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of how current planning guidance supports the Government's vision of the UK being the best place in the world for General Aviation.
The National Planning Policy Framework expects local planning authorities, when preparing their Local Plans, to take account of the role of airfields in meeting business, leisure, training and emergency service needs.
The planning practice guidance supporting the Framework was strengthened in March 2015, following publication of the General Aviation Strategy, to make clear that aviation makes a significant contribution to economic growth across the country, including in relation to small and medium sized airports and airfields.
The guidance advises that local planning authorities should consider the interconnectivity between airfields of different sizes and that they should have regard to the Aviation Policy Framework.