Aviation airfields
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) issued in December 2025 refers to Aviation airfields as: "Licensed or unlicensed aerodromes with hard or grass runways, often with extensive areas of open land related to aviation activity."
Earlier version published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in 2021 and 2024 refer to general aviation airfields as: ‘Licenced or unlicenced aerodromes with hard or grass runways, often with extensive areas of open land related to aviation activity.’
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