PLANS for around 470 homes, a heritage centre, restaurant and aircraft hangers at Old Sarum airfield have been submitted to Wiltshire Council.

The outline planning application is in the consultation phase from now until July 23 with a decision likely to be taken by the end of the year - once it has gone before Wiltshire councillors.

If passed, it would pave the way for a housing development of around 320 houses at the western end of the airfield buildings and then 150 houses on the south-eastern boundary of the airfield next to Ford, in front of Merrifield Road and Manor Farm Road.

In total 22.2 hectares would be developed into residential land with ten residential hangars being built in front of existing airfield buildings for individuals to house historic aircraft and stay during visits.

A further 5.6 hectares of land would be turned into a "flying hub" including a control tower, heritage centre, visitor centre, cafe or restaurant, parachute centre, aviation archives and aircraft hangars.

The plans state there would be new access points to surrounding roads, car parking, links with nearby footpaths and cycle networks, utilities provision and a "sustainable urban drainage system".

The airfield, one of three in England that has been in continuous use as a grass flying field since construction in World War I, is the only one of the three currently in civilian use and open to the public.

It also has three of the four original World War I hangars still standing, all of which are Grade II* listed.

Ward councillor Ian McLennan said: "This application is causing a huge stir because of its history and place in the local community.

"Its size means that it will either be decided before the Strategic Planning Committee Meeting or the Southern Area Planning Committee. In my opinion it should not come to a committee until there is a Conservation Area Management Plan - the Wiltshire Core Strategy says it may accept some development if there is one.

"In this instance the applicants have done what developers do and held an open meeting where they take some views and do some work with their architects but that doesn't constitute working with the parish council and residents.

"When you have a conservation plan, it conserves and enhances the site rather than taking bits away. If there's a gap in funding then that's when you apply for lottery and heritage grants."

Grenville Hodge, director of Old Sarum Airfield Ltd, the company which runs the historic airfield, said cllr McLennan was "talking nonsense".

He said: "We first submitted our conservation plan to Wiltshire Council and English Heritage in 2008 and have updated it 17 times since then to take account of changing views. On many of these occasions we have consulted with the parish council and also English Heritage and Wiltshire Council. It is the council that has responsibility to produce a conservation plan - we are helping them out.

"We have consulted as widely as possible for many years and held several meetings with the parish council and welcomed views from the local community - we have done as much as we can.

"It's a complex item and we fully expect some people won't want it to continue particularly some people who are close to it but we have been working on this for a very long time.

"Flying will continue at the airfield and we will open up the space in front of the listed hangers to improve the site."

To see the application or take part in the consulation click here