The Snowdonia National Park Authority has today (November 12) refused applications for lawful use certificates at the disused military site at Llanbedr. The prospect of Britain's newest airport being opened in the Snowdonia National park is more distant - but it has not gone away.

After the ruling was announced the Society issued the following statement

"We are very pleased to have confirmation that the law does not allow developers to ride roughshod over a precious National Park, in this case by creating a civil airport within it.  Planning officers at the Snowdonia National Park Authority have completed a highly professional analysis of Kemble's application before coming to that view. We are indebted to our expert legal team who worked for us without charge in the public interest and helped bring about this result.

We urged Kemble more than a year ago to make an application for planning permission. They would then have had to come clean about their intentions for the Llanbedr site, and those intentions could have been properly scrutinised.  Instead they tried unsuccessfully to by-pass the normal planning regime.

Cymdeithas Eryri wants to see more and better jobs in the area; jobs with good prospects and not in conflict with the purposes of National Parks.  To pave the way for that we would be happy to have discussions with any developers who think they can provide such jobs on the Llanbedr site.  That offer is of course open to Kemble, but up to now they have refused to meet us."

An application for planning permission would have to be held in public and would need to consider in detail the environmental impact of creating a civilian airport in Snowdonia. a landscape which enjoys special legal protection as a result of its designation as a national park. The area also adjoins SSSI and SAC designated sites, created to protect wildlife and biodiversity.

The Society is up against powerful Government and commercial interests who have attempted to bypass normal planning processes. Fighting to protect Snowdonia and for an open and public examination of the case stretches the Society to breaking point. If you think Snowdonia's special qualities are worth defending  please help us by donating to our charitable funds - better still please join us! A button is on the left of this page.

BBC coverage is here

The SNPA statement is as follows

"Following specialist legal advice, Snowdonia National Park Authority has refused the applications for Lawful Use Certificates by Llanbedr Airfield Estates LLP.

27 applications were submitted on behalf of Llanbedr Airfield Estates LLP for Lawful Use Certificates in relation to the former airfield site at Llanbedr to establish the site’s lawful use.

 A Lawful Use Certificate is not something to be considered within a planning policy context, but is a legal matter that succeeds or fails on the evidence submitted.

Had the legal advice recommended that SNPA grant the certificates that in itself would have established what was lawful on the site. As the specialist legal advice recommended otherwise however, the applicant now has several options including submitting another application for Lawful Use Certificates (with possibly a different evidential emphasis), appeal, or submit a series of planning applications.  To date, this Authority has not received or considered any planning applications by this applicant.

As these are applications for Lawful Use Certificates this is not an indication of the Authority’s stance for or against the suitability of the future development of the site in Llanbedr."

The Campaign for National Parks has welcomed today’s refusal by the Snowdonia National Park Authority of applications that could have led to a new airport at the former military facility at Llanbedr in the Snowdonia National Park.  The refusal, which follows specialist legal advice, relates to Lawful Use Certificates, which are a legal and not a planning matter.  In welcoming the decision, Ruth Chambers from CNP said ‘we applaud the Park Authority’s decision and its careful and legally-based analysis of the applications.  If the developer wants to push forward with plans for a new airfield, this will have to be done through the planning system, with the environmental impacts properly addressed and the public fully consulted.  The strong protection provided by the National Park will be a very high hurdle for any new airport to overcome’.

Information on Kemble is here