91Èȱ¬

Monday 15 September, 6.30pm, 91Èȱ¬ Radio Wales

Residents of the Gwent Levels are hoping Newport councillors will clip the wings of a private aerodrome operator this week.

Councillors will decide on Wednesday whether to take action against the owner of Upfield Farm Aerodrome, at Whitson, near Newport, requiring removal of the 650-metre concrete runway and aircraft hangars he built in 2003 without planning permission.

The council claims that use of the airfield breaches planning consent issued by them in 1997 for the owner and his family and friends to fly from a grass runway at the farm, as they believe it now constitutes a commercial venture.

But the owner, Ken Bowen, is challenging the council's position. He insists the concrete strip is safer than grass, and that its removal wouldn't necessarily reduce flight numbers.

Residents' safety concerns intensified after a light aircraft crashed in a nearby stable yard after flying out of the airfield in July. The pilot and one passenger escaped with minor injuries.

In the first in a new series, 'Eye on Wales' investigates controversy surrounding the unlicensed aerodrome.