North Hampshire airfield threatened by housing plan
Popham near Basingstoke could be turned into a housing estate
Last updated 22nd Jan 2026
An airfield near Basingstoke is being threatened with closure after being included in a draft local plan for housing.
Popham is home to around 150 aircraft and the airfield includes three flying schools, a maintenance business, and a cafe popular with local visitors who come to watch the flying.
Brian Lloyd is one of the founders of the group 'Popham airfield matters' he said it's an asset to the community both on the ground and in the air:
"It's a busy and thriving viable little airfield it actually makes money its actual impact on the neighbourhood is quite low. There's a hundred and fifty aircraft there, five hundred people keep their aircraft there, it's one of the best-rated airfields in the country.
"There's a really good little cafe it's the kind of place nan and grandpa can bring the kids during half-term it doesn't cost anything to go there and on a nice day you can sit outside and the pilots to a man will wave, it's very much a community and very friendly."
Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council have included the airfield in their local plan which sets out sites that would be suitable for housing development.
Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Infrastructure Cllr Andy Konieczko said: “We’ve been holding an extensive consultation programme on the Local Plan, which will guide where development will go in the borough in the future. The purpose of the public information events is to give people the opportunity to speak to our planning team, to learn more about the proposals and encourage them to share their views through the consultation, that runs until Friday 23 January.
“Changes to the government’s housing figure means we now need to find space for an extra 6,300 homes in the plan. We recognise that some of the sites that we’ve now had to take the difficult decision to include in the draft allocation are prompting concerns from residents. We’re listening to residents because it’s important that we understand everyone’s concerns through the consultation. This feedback will help us to shape the next draft of the Local Plan.
“Our very challenging job will be to address residents’ concerns and, at the same time, meet the housing target that we’ve been set by the government – that’s likely to be tricky as the feedback we’ve received to date suggests that these two objectives don’t always align. If we fail to meet this tougher housing target, we risk losing control of development in our borough, which we can’t allow to happen.”
The deadline for people to have their say on the future of Popham is Fri 23 Jan at 5pm.
If you want to find out more about the campaign including links on how to give feedback you can go to pophamairfieldmatters.org