Byley Airfield was designated derelict land in the Department of the Environment Survey of 1993.

The following clauses are extracts from that survey which clearly shows that Byley Airfield was incorrectly designated and you should use this as one reason for objecting to Scottish Power’s proposed development.

DEFINITION OF DERELICT LAND

Derelict Land

1. The definition of derelict land for the purpose of the survey is the same as that used for previous derelict land surveys, i.e. “land so damaged by industrial or other development that it is incapable of beneficial use without treatment”. This includes closed and disused tips (as defined in the Mines and Quarries (Tips) Act 1969) and worked out mineral excavations which are not subject to enforceable planning conditions or other arrangements providing for restoration, abandoned military or service installations, abandoned industrial installations and land which is affected by surface collapse resulting from disused underground mining operations. There is no minimum size below which derelict sites are not to be recorded (although the totals for each box on the form should be rounded to the nearest hectare).

Military, etc. Dereliction

9. Military and other services installations which are abandoned, and which otherwise meet the definition of derelict land should be included. Not every disused services establishment will necessarily qualify for inclusion; for example, a recently relinquished establishment in good condition which seems to lend itself to alternative use for industrial or agricultural purposes should not be included. Areas of dereliction will need to be differentiated from surrounding areas. For example, only the runways of former military airfields should be included if the rest of the airfield is returned to agriculture and even the hardstanding should be excluded from the survey if it has a use, such as for storage.

Land not regarded as derelict

5. The following categories of land are not within the definition of derelict land in paragraph 4 above and should not be included as part of the survey:

(iv) land damaged by development which has blended into the landscape in the process of time to the extent that it can reasonably be considered as part of the natural surroundings or has been put to some form of acceptable use and no longer constitutes a problem, e.g. a well vegetated spoil heap, quarry or pit which no longer constitutes an eyesore and is possibly used as a nature reserve or for informal recreation.