Provided by Rushcliffe Borough Council
Rushcliffe Borough Council’s Cabinet met this evening and moved ahead with their Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) as part of the Masterplan for future housing developments on the former RAF Tollerton site.
Campaigners had gathered outside Rushcliffe Borough Council this evening, in an effort to remind the Cabinet of the essential pause that they had decided only a few months ago. In January, RBC had paused their onward decision citing the need for more information on traffic and infrastructure
In a press release that appeared on the Council’s website this evening, RBC stated,
‘The Council’s Cabinet met today (March 10) and passed recommendations on a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) following consultation last year on its content and having acknowledged the points raised by a local campaign group.
This does not grant any existing or future planning permissions for applications and the SPD will now guide any next stages of development by providing a key development framework and masterplan for the whole of the strategic allocation.
In January, Cabinet had voted to pause a decision on the next stage of planning whilst more detailed information was requested from the developers, especially on highways, which was forthcoming and provided Cabinet with key information regarding an aligned approach to a single highways solution.
Members of an RBC cross-party Councillor working group and Council Officers have worked on adoption of the Masterplan for many years as it brings together a single vision for the comprehensive development of the site.
Cllr Roger Upton, RBC Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing, reiterated that the Council needed an SPD for the site so it can further oversee developers’ plans and have more influence on how they are shaped.
He said: “If we did not pass this SPD we would have risked applications for homes on the site at Gamston and Tollerton being determined by Government rather than by local people.
“We currently have applications submitted to the Council to build on the Gamston and Tollerton site, and we have been clear a Masterplan for the entire development is needed to offer clear guidance on where the infrastructure should be sited as part of the planning process.
“We have now received more information from the developers, and comments from Nottinghamshire County Council and National Highways on the data and plans for the transport and highway solutions in and around the site.
“We have also received confirmation that the developers are continuing to work collaboratively and proactively with each other, and the highways authorities, to identify a satisfactory highways solution.
“As a Council we have called on the Government to abolish housing targets, but this policy does not seem forthcoming, and we have an obligation to have an up-to-date Local Plan and five-year land supply.
“We are aware of concerns around possible contamination on areas around Nottingham Airport, and these must be addressed as part of any planning applications.”
Campaigners outside council offices this evening
‘‘A frankly indefensible’ decision
One of the lead campaigners of the Save Nottingham City Airport Group, Sarah Deacon was scathing of the decision when she told me, ‘Cabinet’s decision to adopt the SPD is, frankly indefensible.
No traffic monitoring. No fixed highways strategy. A live objection from National Highways. And the reason for all of this? Developers chose not to supply the evidence the Council itself required- and the Council proceeded anyway.
When developers can simply withhold essential information and face no consequences- when the planning process continues regardless- it exposes a deeply troubling imbalance of power. It is residents who live with the consequences of these decisions. It is residents who deserve to be at the centre of them.
This Borough deserves a planning process led by evidence and accountability- not one that bends to developers who refuse to provide either.
We are consulting our legal team and will be announcing our next steps shortly.’
Certainly, no new documents have been uploaded to the planning portal since December 2025, leaving residents, campaigners and the wider public in the dark, as to what new information the council has received. It remains difficult for the public to support or object to the delivery of the planning proposals, if they cannot view the most up-to-date information, leaving some feeling that there is a lack of transparency in favour of the developers.
Have the Council exposed themselves to legal risks?
In a press release this morning, campaigners warned that the decision to move ahead with the planning document could undermine the wider Greater Nottingham Strategic Plan, as questions could be raised about how deliverable the housing allocation could be.
“Campaigners warn that pressing ahead in this state would expose the Council to clear legal risk, including potential judicial review, and could seriously undermine the ongoing examination of the Greater Nottingham Strategic Plan (GNSP)—which depends on the allocation being demonstrably deliverable.”
Campaigners had therefore expected this outcome from Rushcliffe Borough Council’s Cabinet and are now considering whether pursuing a judicial review of this decision would be the best strategy.
Have contamination fears been addressed?
Questions and concerns about contamination from the former use of the site as a burial site for Lancasters and other aircraft remain unanswered and campaigners are left hoping that the council will stick to its promise that the radiation contamination ‘must be addressed as part of any planning application.’
Residents who could not attend this evening’s meeting had hoped that Rushcliffe Borough Council would live-stream the meeting, as they have done for other meetings. Unfortunately, this live-stream did not go ahead, leaving residents feeling that they continue to be ignored and dismissed.
With the signal to move ahead granted this evening, residents and campaigners fear that they remain in harm’s way.
Climate Thoughts with Brian 