TAG Farnborough Airport’s controversial proposals to introduce a new area of “controlled” airspace have been finalised, with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) set to make a decision this spring.

The airport has published its final ‘feedback report C’ following an extended round of consultation as objectors continue to criticise the plans.

East Hampshire District Council (EHDC), which has said the proposals would be “a blight on East Hampshire’s countryside, residents and businesses”, is again set to debate the issue next Thursday (February 23).

A core concern is that the changes would increase the number of lower flights overhead, creating additional noise pollution, and causing operational and safety issues for other airspace users.

Nonetheless, contrary to objectors’ fears, TAG insists its proposal will lead to “fewer flights at low altitudes” as “arriving aircraft will remain higher for longer and departing aircraft will climb higher more quickly” – in turn resulting in a “nett reduction in people overflown”.

General aviation airspace users would maintain the ability to cross the airspace with permission from air-traffic control or to fly around the airspace.

TAG Farnborough Airport currently uses class G airspace (uncontrolled airspace), which is shared with other airports and general aviation users. The proposed change would essentially mean it would have its own airspace in which to operate.

Locally, this has proven highly contentious, with objections coming from East Hampshire MP Damian Hinds, EHDC, the South Downs National Park Authority and general airspace users, such as Lasham Gliding Society – the UK’s largest gliding club. Describing the proposals as “deeply threatening”, the society has said its very existence hangs in the balance.

After initial consultations in 2014, which received more than 13,000 comments, TAG Farnborough submitted a formal airspace change proposal to the CAA.

However, last year “some aspects of the proposal” changed, including proposed flight paths in the north of Hampshire, West Sussex and parts of the national park. This modification alters the “spread” of one of the proposed arrival paths and would, TAG said, reduce the total amount of new controlled airspace they need.

Consultation on this change saw an additional 600 stakeholders respond to the proposal, generating more than 2,800 comments.

In their feedback report, TAG Farnborough said the concerns raised were similar to those in the original 2014 consultation.

The “four broad themes” were the environmental impact (primarily noise), access to the proposed airspace, safety, and the justification for the proposed changes.

Commenting on the latest report, Colin Jackson, chairman of Lasham Gliding Society, said it still “failed to address the hazard that they were creating to other aviation users”.

Furthermore, the day after the report was released (December 15), the CAA cancelled the requirement for standard routes, this being “the only prescribed justification put forward by TAG Farnborough for this airspace”, said Mr Jackson.

Since then TAG Farnborough and the CAA have held a number of meetings with other airspace users where TAG and the CAA seemed set on finding to ‘share’ the proposed airspace while “we made clear that the objective was to find an airspace design that was fair and safe for all, not to ‘share’ an unsafe design”.

As such, airspace users such as the gliding society put forward a proposal which was more “environmentally friendly” and which they believe would also “achieve nearly all of TAG Farnborough’s objectives”.

But, said Mr Jackson, “no reasons were presented as to why this proposal would not work”. Instead, it was simply disregarded, he said.

Lasham Gliding Society already has proof that the proposed airspace arrangement would not work.

According to Mr Jackson, when a similar airspace configuration was temporarily implemented for the Olympics many members chose not to fly due to operating and safety issues.

If this were to become the norm it does not bode well for the future of the club.

Mr Jackson said: “Lasham would experience significant financial consequences at the reduced activity level. This was not even addressed in feedback report C.”

He concluded: “Lasham Gliding and other airspace users would have no choice in the event of a regulatory decision which is unsafe and/or jeopardises the viability of Lasham Gliding Society.

“It would, if necessary, use every appropriate means including judicial review to ensure a safe and equitable outcome. This is particularly sad when there is a viable and safe solution.”

This week, TAG Farnborough echoed its previous stance, saying that “the proposed airspace change aims to create a more predictable flow of air traffic to and from TAG Farnborough Airport, which has a number of advantages”.

And a spokesman added: “A new airspace environment with controlled airspace would create more predictability in planning and managing operations, and also enable the introduction of routes based on advanced navigation standards.”