PLANS for a small grass runway airfield at a Herefordshire wedding venue are divided.
Herefordshire businessman Gary Waring, who runs Lyde Court wedding venue and Hereford’s Left Bank, and De Koffie Pot presented plans for the small airfield to Herefordshire Council earlier this month.
In the motion, Mr Waring said he wanted to establish permanent use of an informal grass runway and convert an existing barn into a hangar and maintenance building at Lyde Court, near Hereford.
In a design and access statement submitted to the Herefordshire Council’s planning department, it was expected that the runway could act as a commercial and tourism-related opportunity for Hereford, as well as a unique selling point for newlyweds and functions.
“This is a great opportunity for Herefordshire,” wrote supporter David Barrett.
“I live near Shobdon Airfield and have friends who travel from Hereford to Shobdon and store or fly their planes there. The Kington area I live in have no complaints at all about the noise levels from these small planes. ”
Among the seven others who so far shared their enthusiasm for the project was Edward Lennox, who said that perhaps, ironically, aviation has a role in promoting biodiversity.
“It is significant that Bodmin Airfield in Cornwall began as a grass airfield, harvesting endangered wild meadow seeds and is home to many rare species of insects,” he said.
However, others did not share their enthusiasm, so that nine objections have also been submitted to the council at the moment.
Appeal Leader Kathryn Vear said the area was already suffering from noise pollution from flights and said the proposed number of daily flights would make this much worse.
Not only was noise cited as a reason for the objections, but the potential impact of increased traffic on narrow country roads was also highlighted.
“The narrow streets in this area feel unsafe even when walking your dog,” wrote Nicola Nelson.
“For further traffic, wider streets and pedestrian walkways are required for this to be a viable option.”
And others questioned the environmental side of the plan, which they believed ran counter to the owners’ vision, the Duchy of Cornwall.
“The entire property is owned by the Duchy of Cornwall, which strives to create a climate neutral environment,” wrote Christine Cooper.
“This proposal is in complete contradiction as it also adds carbon and CO2, which goes against the rural nature of the area.”
Mr. Waring told the Hereford Times that the goal is to formalize the runway as a “low key” addition to the venue. He also plans to address environmental concerns by planting more trees on the site and aims to have both Lyde Court and the Left Bank be carbon negative by 2026.
“We want our menus to be at least 50 percent vegetarian and 25 percent vegan,” he said.
“We try to be one step ahead of the game and since we have a lot of land around us we can plant a lot of trees.”
His vision includes the restoration of a former cherry orchard, which can be seen on the land’s tithe map from 1840.
“Lyde Court and Left Bank bring a lot of tourists to Herefordshire and anything we can do to encourage people to come to Hereford is important,” said Waring.