Southend Class D Airspace
The BGA deeply regrets that the CAA has seen fit to impose Class D airspace at Southend. Earlier in 2014 we did not oppose the creation of a temporary radio mandatory zone (RMZ) at Southend, which had been imposed by the CAA without consultation in response to airproxes. Indeed, we believed that an RMZ was a more appropriate permanent solution to the needs of all airspace users and that once the RMZ was in place the argument for Class D would be unsustainable.
Sadly, the CAA has chosen not to employ their own previously published option of an RMZ something that was expressly designed to bridge the large gap between a simple ATZ and full blown controlled airspace (CAS). It is hard to understand why they have done this; the decision letter makes vague references to "apparent infringements of the RMZ". We believe that the RMZ's existence was inadequately publicised on both paper and electronic charts and that these "apparent infringements" should be properly investigated to understand whether or not they were real before using them to justify the drastic action of imposing new CAS.
Sadly, this follows earlier CAA decisions on Class F airspace where the carefully expressed needs of GA appear to have been totally ignored. This is a most worrying trend.
One consolation is that Sarah Kelman has already been in discussion with Southend and has been met with a constructive willingness to create letters of agreement which will hopefully make some of the new CAS available to us on a tactical agreed basis. More information from those discussions will be published as it becomes available.
Details of the new CAS are in the CAA Decision Letter available at http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/2111/20150128%20Southend%20ACP%20Decision%20Letter%2 0v6.pdf
John Williams Chairman, BGA Airspace Committee.