A LONG-RUNNING row over noise at an airfield looks set to continue after a campaign group dropped its High Court legal action against a council.

Action4Refusal, which is pressing Hambleton District Council to exert planning control over Bagby Airfield, near Thirsk, said it had applied for a judicial review over the authority's decision not to consult it ahead of deciding its planning strategy for the airstrip.

It said it decided not to proceed to an oral hearing when the authority stated they would take further enforcement action against the airfield.

In May, the council's planning committee had considered the scope for further action in relation to the airfield, which is regularly used by top jockeys and power-line repair firms.

The council had commissioned a report about the possibility of imposing a discontinuance order on the airfield, which members decided would be disproportionate to the situation.

The action group said it now wanted the council to go back to the drawing board to find a way of limiting noise from the airfield, and in particular helicopter flights.

A spokesperson for the group said it believed the council had not pursued a discontinuance order as it would prove expensive.

He said: "Experience now shows that conventional planning enforcements will not regain any control.

"Only partial discontinuance does that and that is something the council has yet to consider."

The authority is understood to be examining the airfield's fuel facility, which has been put on wheels to overcome planning regulations, and a new area of Tarmac.

A council spokesman said: “The council does not feel it is appropriate to comment at this time.”

The airfield's management said they were confident there were no outstanding planning issues at the site.