On Friday 25th November 2016, I visited the Andrewsfield Airfield. It was a great opportunity to meet members of the club, flying instructors and local residents.

I was invited to see the club both to see the activities there are also to listen to local concerns about possible house building in the area which may limit or end flying from the club.

It is clear the club is a significant part of the local community, a facility for members and visitors to fly for leisure and I was interested to learn about the commercial flying school and also its history since its creation in WWII.

We spoke about a variety of issues surrounding the site and the subject of garden communities including both hard and soft infrastructure, prioritisation of brownfield sites, water capacity and also aviation policy. I reminded all those who attended the meeting that while I have no formal role in planning and am not involved in the decision making process I do pass on concerns to the local council.

The planning process is still live and no decisions concerning the Garden Communities have yet been taken. I encourage everyone to engage with the consultation process and to continue to feed in to this.