VILLAGERS have spoken of their relief after plans to expand Elvington Airfield were thrown out by a Government inspector.

Residents say they would have suffered from noise nuisance and traffic congestion if the site’s owners had been allowed to fly thousands more planes in and out each year.

As reported in The Press yesterday, pictured, inspector Colin Tyrrell ruled the plans of Elvington Park Ltd (EPL) would have damaged the greenbelt and the Lower Derwent Valley, an area of national importance for birdlife.

Christine Fewster, chair of the Elvington Village Hall Committee said: “I am pleased. The infrastructure we have here is really not suitable for any further development.

“We get a lot of lorries coming through here already and Elvington Lane, from Grimston Bar to Elvington, is not a terribly good road.”

EPL said it would cap the number of take-offs and landings each year to about 11,000 but Ms Fewster said she feared the firm may have moved on to larger and more flights in future. She said: “I think they were trying to get their foot in the door.”

Molly Lamb, who is secretary of the village’s senior citizens group, said: “I am delighted and I think most people in the village will be.”

She said villagers had endured noise nuisance before, from Formula 1 car testing, and said: “People at the Elvington Park end of the village are really fed up.”

James Alexander, Labour’s candidate for York Outer in the next General Election, also welcomed the decision. He said: “I have heard the economic arguments for an airport at Elvington, but why would there be an economic argument for an airport in York when Leeds Bradford Airport is not very far away?”

But Tom Fitzpatrick, who runs Elvington Village Stores in Main Street, said the development would have brought more business for him and others in the village, and said he was “disgusted” it had been thrown out.

He said: “It would have been fantastic for here. There were objections, but most were from Wheldrake and elsewhere.

“I live here as well and the noise never affects us much and even the racing cars were making more noise than the planes, but that was not terrible – only maybe if you are living right beside it.

“I think it’s very short-sighted in this day and age when we are looking for business.”