26/01/2026
HAVE YOUR SAY | Local people are invited to help further shape the former Ashbourne Airfield, which is the largest development site here in the Derbyshire Dales.
Your District Council launches a public consultation today, running until 23 February. Please *complete the official survey* for your comments to be recorded.
Background information and a link to the public consultation survey can be found on our website 👇www.derbyshiredales.gov.uk/ashbourne-airfield-design-code
You will need to refer to the Supplementary Planning Document (SPD), which can be viewed here 👇
https://www.derbyshiredales.gov.uk/documents/ashbourne-airfield-design-code-draft-supplementary-planning-document-spd-pdf/download
Regeneration of the 99-hectare site is in two phases and has already begun. Phase 1 has seen planning permission granted for 297 homes (underway), together with two industrial buildings on the former airfield's business park. A planning application has also been submitted for a further 70 homes as the final part of Phase 1.
Phase 2, the subject of the consultation, will provide further mixed-use development, including up to 1,100 homes and further employment land.
The public consultation focuses on the Ashbourne Airfield Design Code SPD.
Government stipulates that Design Codes should be prepared to reflect local character and design preferences as a framework to create beautiful and distinctive places.
The Ashbourne Airfield SPD seeks to provide a clear set of ‘design principles’ against which future planning proposals will be assessed. It provides a set of illustrated design requirements that provide specific, detailed parameters for the future physical development of Phase 2 of the Ashbourne Airfield site.
Once formally adopted, the SPD will be a ‘material consideration’ in the determination of subsequent applications for development on Phase 2.
A District Council spokesperson said: "In taking the SPD forward we would like to thank the landowners and other stakeholders for their input to date.
"We will review all the representations and comments made during this consultation. Following consideration of the representations and the need for any amendments to the SPD because of these comments, we will then present a final version of the Supplementary Planning Document to Derbyshire Dales councillors for adoption. Everyone who has submitted comments during the consultation will be notified of the adopted SPD."
👉The Ashbourne Airfield site is located to the northwest of the roundabout off the A52 and immediately to the southeast of the Ashbourne Airfield Industrial Estate.
👉The redevelopment of the site is an opportunity for a range of facilities and services, including residential development, commercial and employment development, leisure and community uses, education and social / medical care.
