A TOP Government planning adviser has been commissioned by Dunsfold Park to make the case for building 1,000 new homes at the airfield to meet housing needs.

Lord Matthew Taylor, who chairs the partnership board delivering a large eco-community near St Austell, Cornwall, has produced an 89-page report proposing Dunsfold as the ideal site for a similar scheme.

Dunsfold Park chief executive Jim McAllister said: "We acquired the aerodrome in 2002 and 10 years on the future of the site still remains undecided.

"Based on his experience and expertise in rural development, we took the decision to commission Lord Taylor to gather a variety of evidence and opinions in an effort to investigate all the options before us, and in order to establish the best way forward – not only in the interests of the aerodrome and its tenants but also for the local community."

For full story, see this week's Haslemere Herald.