The council's own noise and air quality officers say the MOD's Dalton Barracks evidence falls short. Twelve neighbours object; comments run to 4 November.
The Vale of White Horse District Council’s own noise officers say the Ministry of Defence has not shown that events at Dalton Barracks will not disturb neighbours. They also say the council has had noise complaints about the airfield in recent years. That contradicts the MOD’s application, which says the uses have not led to any complaints from residents.
The application, P26/V3639/FUL, asks for three years’ permission for uses already running on the old RAF Abingdon airfield at Shippon. They include the Sunday car boot sale, Airsoft games, bike races, model aircraft and Formula E testing. Our first report has the full list.
There is more time to comment than we first reported. The council’s register now shows the consultation ending on Wednesday 4 November, after a site notice went up on 14 October. The earlier deadline of 21 October was the newspaper advert’s.
What the council’s officers said
Two of the district council’s specialist teams replied on 12 October. Neither objected outright, but both said the MOD’s evidence falls short.
The Environmental Protection Team said the MOD’s noise assessment “does not provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate that noise from these activities, either individually or cumulatively, would not adversely affect neighbouring occupants”. It added:
“The report states that there have been no complaints associated with activities at the airfield; however, the Council has received noise complaints relating regarding activities taking place at the Airfield in recent years.”
It asks for a condition that no development takes place until a full noise prediction is approved. That report would follow British Standard BS4142, the method for rating industrial and commercial sound. It would map each noise source and the nearest homes, give noise levels and operating times, and set out how noise would be controlled.
The MOD’s planning statement quotes its noise consultant’s conclusion that the uses “have not resulted in any complaints from residents”. Elsewhere it acknowledges that motorsport track days “may have resulted in complaints” to the council’s planning enforcement team. It says those track days will be limited to 14 a year and fall outside this application.
The council’s air quality officers said the MOD’s air quality statement “does not provide sufficient information”. They want a full assessment written to the council’s own guidance for developers.
Earlier replies raised no concerns. Natural England had no objection, and the council’s contaminated land team had none either. Oxfordshire County Council’s highways team had not replied by 23 October.
What the parish council said
St Helen Without Parish Council, which covers Shippon, raised “no objection in principle” on 21 October. It still asked for conditions on noise, hours and traffic, and said the application should state how many events it covers. Its points:
- The MOD’s claim of no complaints “does not entirely reflect the Parish Council’s local knowledge”. Residents have raised concerns about Airsoft and model aircraft.
- Formula E testing can run 7am to 10pm, Monday to Friday, and car boot sellers can arrive from 6am on Sundays.
- Event traffic should use approved entrances, and not residential roads in Shippon and Cothill. The parish singles out sight lines at Honeybottom Lane.
- Any activity in the north-west of the airfield should assess its effect on the Cothill Fen and Dry Sandford Pit Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
The traffic figures
The MOD’s transport statement, by Glanville Consultants, puts worst-case traffic from these uses at:
- 238 vehicle movements on a weekday, 12 of them in the morning peak hour and 21 in the evening peak
- 60 on a Saturday
- 1,354 on a Sunday, when the car boot sale runs
It says the traffic is already on local roads, because the uses already happen, and that typical days “would be much lower”.
What neighbours have said
By 23 October the register held 12 objections from neighbours and one general comment. The objectors give addresses in Dry Sandford, Cothill Road and Gozzards Ford.
The points they raise most often:
- Noise, from model jets, motor events and Formula E testing, and the combined effect when several uses run at once.
- Traffic and parking on event days, especially fireworks nights. One neighbour says it is “impossible to leave the house” on those evenings.
- Lorries waiting on Honeybottom Lane before the gates open, and the safety of its two entrances.
- No limit on numbers. Several ask the council to cap how often each use can happen, with conditions it can enforce.
The airfield’s next fireworks night is Saturday 14 November. The county council’s road closures for it are on our fireworks page.
What it means for you
- You can still comment until Wednesday 4 November. Use the comment link on the application page. Comments are published, so leave out anything you would not want public.
- The useful comments are specific. The council can attach conditions on hours, event days and which entrances are used. A comment that says which activity, which days and which road gives officers something to write into a condition.
- The car boot sale and the other uses carry on meanwhile. The council’s target date for a decision is 24 November. If the MOD has to commission a new noise and air quality assessment, that date may slip.
For other applications around the town, see our planning news page.
Sources
- Vale of White Horse District Council planning register, P26/V3639/FUL, read 23 October 2026: consultation dates; Environmental Protection Team and Air Quality consultee comments (12 October); St Helen Without Parish Council comment (21 October); Natural England (1 October) and contaminated land (7 October) replies; 12 neighbour objections and one comment received 25 September to 21 October.
- Carter Jonas planning statement for the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, on the same register: paragraphs 2.6, 2.8 to 2.9, 2.20 and 4.30.
- Glanville Consultants transport statement, Issue 4, 3 July 2026, on the same register: paragraphs 3.11 and 4.3.
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