Farnborough airport planning application

Update on when the planning application will be determined

It was our aim to determine the planning application in March 2024, to meet the 16-week statutory deadline for environmental impact assessment applications.

However, due to the need for additional information (please see below) and the statutory consultation periods, meeting this March deadline is no longer possible.

Due to the considerable public interest in the item and the upcoming pre-election period, we cannot determine the application during this time. The application will now go to a planning committee after the May elections.

At this stage, we expect that the application will be considered by our Development Management Committee during the summer. We would like to avoid the school holidays if possible.

We will be publishing updates about the application, including when the application will go to committee on this web page, and we send them to everyone who has already commented on the application.

Our request for additional information

On 24 January, we made a request to Farnborough Airport Ltd for additional information and clarifications on their application.

This took the form of a Regulation 25 and a S.73 additional information request.

Farnborough Airport Ltd, on 29 of January, submitted additional information and we are currently reviewing this.

We will do a public consultation on the new information that we have received, but we will only consult once we have received all the information required to reach a decision.

We may make further information requests to the applicant if we decide this is necessary.

All comments that we already received will still be considered when we determine the application in the summer.

Consultation on the application

In November 2023 we sent a consultation letter to all properties, including residents, businesses and schools,  in the inbound and outbound flight paths of the airport within the borough of Rushmoor.

We also consulted with the councils and parishes within local authority areas that lie within the 7,000 ft flight path of Farnborough Airport.

We placed newspaper adverts to publicise the consultation in local authorities within the 4,000 ft flight path of Farnborough Airport. 

Following legal advice, we will be extending the consultation area on the planning application.

Extending the consultation area

All those who have been consulted previously or who have commented on the application, will be consulted again on the additional information that we receive from the applicant.

All properties within the projected Noise ‘Lowest Observed Adverse Effect Level’ (LOAEL) area will also be consulted about the planning application – including those who fall within this area but are outside of Rushmoor.

This extension to the consultation area for the planning application is based upon the predicted noise impacts of the proposals on residential properties.

To determine if a property is 'affected' by noise for the purposes of consultation, we have adopted a criterion of a +3dB change between the lowest observed adverse effect level (LOAEL) and the significant observed adverse effect level (SOAEL) and 2dB above SOAEL. This approach has been used by other airports and has been tested in the courts.

The planning application we received in November 2023

On 6 November, Farnborough Airport Ltd submitted a planning application to:

• Increase the maximum number of annual aircraft movements from 50,000 to 70,000 per annum, including an increase in non-weekday aircraft movements from 8,900 to 18,900 per annum
• Amend the aircraft weight category of 50,000 to 80,000 kg to 55,000 to 80,000 kg, and an increase from 1,500 to 2,100 aircraft movements within this category, including an increase from 270 to 570 annual aircraft movements for non-weekdays
• Replace conditions numbers 7 (1:10,000 risk contour) and 8 (1:100,000 risk contour) of the existing planning permission with a new condition to produce public safety zone maps in accordance with the Civil Aviation Authority/Department for Transport requirements

The council validated the application on 10 November, and the planning application reference number is 23/00794/REVPP.

You can review the documents submitted with this planning application on our planning applications website.

Because there are a large number of documents associated with this application, you may want to use the 'filter by' function to help you search for a particular document. You can see a list of all documents submitted with the planning application, including versions, in the Farnborough airport planning application documents list.

Hard copies of all the documents are also available to view at the council offices and at Aldershot library and Farnborough library during opening hours.

How to comment

The deadline for us to receive comments was Sunday 17 December, which is in line with statutory timescales. This is an extension on the original deadline of 4 December. It is at our discretion to accept additional comments after the deadline.

Comment by using our planning applications system

If you use our planning applications website to provide your comments on the application, there is a 500-character limit for your main comments.

Once you start completing your form for comments, there is also a 30-minute time limit. After 30 minutes, the form will reset, and you will have to start the form again. Therefore, we recommend that you prepare your comments before you start typing them into form.

Comment by email

You can also send in your comments by email at farnboroughairport@rushmoor.gov.uk, where there is no limit for the length of your comments.

If you have any questions, please contact us using the contact details below. 

We are expecting a significant number of public comments and enquiries. We therefore ask for your patience and understanding during this time as we process them. 

We will not be able to reply to consultation comments because of the volume we expect to be submitted.