HANGAR HOMES
PLANE LIVING

Solent, Hampshire


Solent is a delightful GA airfield on the south coast of England between Fareham and Gosport, from where flying operations started in 1917 as the base for the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) Daedalus. In 2014 Fareham Borough Council (FBC) became owners of the airfield which has been zoned for business and employment use, whilst retaining the runway and taxiways for operational flying.

A pre-application discussion with FBC for hangar homes on the north-west corner of the airfield was undertaken in 2017, but because the site was zoned for commercial use they were refused, so a planning application was submitted to Gosport Borough Council for the site west of the tower which was zoned for ‘mixed use’.  In February 2018 the Gosport councillors voted in favour of the scheme, but the decision was reversed by a new set of councillors after the local elections, so an appeal was lodged but refused.  

A key reason for refusal was the lack of an ‘unobstructed strip’ between the units and the taxiway, so a new planning application for 9 mixed-use hangars has been submitted for the original site here.  Called ’Solent Aeropark’, the reasons why it should be allowed are here.  If granted, one of the units will be used to run the exclusive agency for Velocity in the UK and Ireland, along with Hangar Homes Ltd and Enterprise Hangars Ltd for Mixed-use Hangars.