LASHAM Gliding Society has submitted its official response to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) expressing “strong opposition” to last month’s decision to grant a large area of new controlled airspace around TAG Farnborough Airport.

Incensed by the CAA’s backing of “airspace grab” to the east of Lasham airfield, which could, the gliding society believes, pose a serious safety risk to other users and even force it out of business, it is threatening legal action if the CAA fails to withdraw or provide information to properly justify its decision.

In a statement this week, the gliders point out that, contrary to assertions made in the CAA decision document, “Lasham Gliding Society considers that the decision to introduce new controlled airspace has not been justified by the CAA”.

On the contrary, the gliding society believes that such a decision will “create a choke point, does not represent an efficient use of airspace, and does not properly or reasonably balance the needs of all users”.

It further argues that “the consequence of the implementation of this large volume of controlled airspace, at the request of a small airfield (TAG Farnborough), which has around 28,000 annual (non-public) movements, will be to displace many times more transiting flights and cause significant congestion of general aviation movements outside the controlled airspace.”

As the world’s largest gliding club, with around twice the number of annual movements as TAG Farnborough airport, Lasham will be at the centre of this bottleneck which, it points out, “gives rise to obvious safety risk for gliders and other aircraft”.

The gliding society claims “the CAA has not published any data or evidence to support its decision that the new arrangements will be safe (or that existing arrangements are not safe), and it has not published any analysis of the impact on Lasham Gliding Society or general aviation traffic in the choke points”.

Furthermore, it believes that “the measures suggested by the CAA for mitigating the serious safety risk are inadequate and ill-conceived”.

Responding to the CAA on behalf of Lasham Gliding Society Ltd, chairman Mike Clarke offered a reminder that, in the course of the decision-making process the gliding society, in partnership with the British Gliding Association and the General Aviation Alliance, engaged with the CAA in meetings and in writing to explain the problems with the changes proposed by TAG Farnborough.

Furthermore, the same parties also submitted “a practical and safe alternative airspace design at the request of the CAA”.

And yet “the CAA has proceeded to approve the TAG Farnborough proposal with only minor modifications”.

As a result, Mr Clarke confirms that Lasham Gliding Society has taken legal advice and will be writing formally to the CAA asking it to withdraw its decision.

And he added: “If the CAA does not withdraw the decision, or provide information properly justifying it, Lasham Gliding Society will consider all options, including a legal challenge.”

Now, Lasham Gliding Society is seeking to inform all members, supporters and the wider public of its fears for the future, and to secure financial support to help it challenge the CAA decision.

For more details on how to do this, call the Lasham Gliding Society office at Lasham airfield on 01256 384900 or e-mail [email protected]. Alternatively, visit lashamgliding.com.