6 days Ago By [email protected] (Joel Moore)
Residents of a Nottinghamshire village have spoken of their fears over the planned development of a nearby airport that could see thousands of houses built. Fears over the future of Nottingham City Airport in Tollerton have been growing amongst nearby residents since Vistry Homes proposals to construct up to 1,600 houses and a primary school on the site surfaced. Parma Somal, a postmaster who lives and works in the village, said "nearly everybody" he knows is opposed to the plans.
"The infrastructure won’t be put in, there are always false promises," said the 63-year-old. “It’s a growing world, we know that. It’s probably a forgone conclusion.
It’d be a shame to lose the airport for one, it’s iconic around here. “More traffic will be detrimental to our business, drivers on busy roads tend to stop less. Businesses won’t gain anything from it.
" Mr Somal added: “We came here for a reason, it’s a village where the quality of life isn’t the same anymore. The more the countryside disappears, the more wildlife disappears. “I’m resigned to the fact it will be built.
The boundary of the city is getting wider and Nottingham is getting bigger.” Susan Bell, who recently opened an art gallery in Tollerton with her husband, has similar concerns. “We know people need somewhere to live.
We’re worried about traffic, there’s already too much through traffic," she said. “Tollerton is quite special as a village, it still has that community feeling. It will be discarded.
Growing up I’d see airshows, I have memories of harrier jets coming over our garden. “Housing should be sympathetic to the location. If it’s affordable housing then that’s what’s needed, but how affordable will it be?" Mr Bell added: “In an ideal world there wouldn’t be any but we understand the need for houses.
It would need a school, doctors and dentists. “It’s also the loss of the airport, there’s a little community there. Before you know it all the fields will be filled in between here and McDonalds.
“I don’t think there’s any benefits, although the developers will benefit." Sharon Horsburgh, 48, who has lived in the village for 11 years, is more open to the idea of the plans. “I do want them to do it but it depends on whether the infrastructure is put in.
I get the need for housing but that also needs to be put in," she said. "Where would kids go to school? And it could increase pressure on doctors in the area. How would it affect the roads? The real shame is the loss of the airport.
It’s not like no-one uses it.” It seems unlikely that the airfield, which is popular with new pilots and flight training schools, will close in the near future. Truman Aviation, which runs Nottingham City Airport, signed a new lease with its landlord the county council in June.
The terms of the new agreement have been kept under wraps due to commercial confidentiality . Previously one of the airport's co-directors cautioned development was likely years away, adding the facility could be looking to relocate if possible . The aviation history of the Tollerton airfield stretches back to the early 20th century, with several flying clubs being based there in its early days.
The site then became RAF Tollerton in 1939 and served many important roles during the Second World War..
