Norton Aerodrome Sheffield: Nearly 300 homes planned at abandoned former RAF site

The former RAF Norton Aerodrome site off Lightwood Lane, in Norton, near Sheffield, was used as a barrage balloon station during the Second World War, helping to protect the city from attacks by the Luftwaffe. The airfield closed in 1965 and the land was once earmarked for a third big hospital, to complement the Royal Hallamshire and Northern General, before being used from 2014 for driving lessons.

Norton Lightwood Under 17s Driver Training Area, which gave thousands of young drivers their first taste of motoring at the site, was forced to leave in 2019 – despite thousands of people signing a petition to keep it going there – due to what the landowner Sheffield Council described as ‘urgent health and safety issues’. More recently, the land was used as a base during filming for The Full Monty Disney+ TV series.

Sheffield Council has revealed plans for a total of 270 new homes to be built at the site, though a number of conditions must first be met. Those include carrying out a detailed assessment of the extent of land contamination there and providing a ‘buffer’ of at least 15 metres to the neighbouring Local Wildlife Site.

The proposal to use the site for housing is contained within the council’s recently published draft Local Plan, a blueprint for development across the city which sets out where 35,700 new homes, plus other buildings like business units, can be built. The document will act as a guide for any future planning applications.