A PROPOSED helicopter base in Almondsbury could have its planning permission quashed following a judicial review brought forward by nearby residents.

The judicial review has been raised over how South Gloucestershire Council made the decision to approve the development.

Protesters from Almondsbury, Bradley Stoke and Hortham requested the review on three grounds, to which the council has signed a letter of consent, stating they will not contest two of these grounds when the review is decided by the court in a few weeks’ time.

The site, near the M5 motorway, is being put forward by BAE as a new heli-base for the National Police Air Service and the Great Western Air Ambulance Charity, with planning permission having been granted on October 5.

The air ambulance service is currently situated at the Filton Airfield, which has had its sale to developers recently finalised.

“We are very happy by this outcome, we are actually quite surprised at how quickly they admitted their mistakes in the applications,” said Julian Stinton, an Almondsbury resident and member of the Heli-base Protest Group.

“If the council doesn’t followed the correct procedures, it is detrimental to the whole planning process.”

In the letter of consent signed by both parties, the council have chosen not to contest the grounds for review that their screening opinion was unlawful and that they had failed to impose a noise monitoring condition.

The council however have not conceded that there are viable alternatives to the proposed site which is situated in the green belt.

Mr Stinton added: “We hope that now the letter of consent has been signed, the courts will act in our favour and that it will all be sorted in two weeks’ time.

“Our main concern now is that we expect them to reapply in January and that the application will go before the planning committee later that month.

“If they do come again, we'll be waiting. A lot more information has come to light which will be put forward as and when the application goes in.”

A spokesman for South Gloucestershire Council was able to confirm the ongoing nature of the judicial review and that they expected it to conclude soon.

A spokesman for the Great Western Air Ambulance Charity also added: “We will continue to work with BAE Systems and the National Police Air Service to address the matters the judicial review raises and remain hopeful the site will be operational, as planned, in 2016.”