The Peninsula Aero Club fumes over Mornington Peninsula Shire enforcing an obsolete no fly zone condition

A flight school has slammed a local council’s “bureaucratic stupidity” after it decided to reinstate an obsolete church rule for a church that no longer exists.

Peninsula Aero Club President Jack Vevers and Flying Instructor Grace Perrin on the tarmac. Picture: Alex Coppel

A stoush of biblical proportions has flared up for a no-fly zone declared over a church during holy hour — only problem is there is no church, it’s a cafe.

Church services stopped at All Saints Church in Tyabb 45 years ago but the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council has in recent weeks decided to enforce the permit requirement.

The Peninsula Aero Club, which up until now had a gentlemen’s agreement allowing it freedom to fly, is threatening a court fight.

The permit issued to the club in 1965 stated that it needed to observe a “church hour” of no flying between 9.30am and 10.30am in respect of Sunday morning services, but once the church shut in 1971, flights started and have been going ever since.

But the council has enforced the rule, and has even threatened the club with new restrictions.

Aero club president Jack Vevers accused the council of giving in to a small but noisy anti-airport lobby group.

The Peninsula Aero Club is now looking to the heavens for help to cut through the bureaucratic madness. Picture: Alex Coppel

He said the council had been asked to remove the holy hour condition but the club withdrew its application after the council proposed to extend curfew times.

“The condition is now obsolete,” Mr Vevers said.

“This is an act of bureaucratic stupidity. It is just nonsense.

“It’s a throwback to 50 years ago saying we can’t fly there because there is a church there — but there is no church there.”

Airport users, who face prosecution for breaching the condition, have now started flying earlier to avoid the holy hour while others are circling the field until 10.30am so they can land.

The former church, now The Hungry Peacock. Picture: Alex Coppel

The council proposed to ban any flights from the airport in Tyabb after sunset on Saturday until 9am on Sunday in a trade-off for removing the one hour.

The council says it is for the sake of the community’s amenity.

Mornington Peninsula Shire planning and building director David Bergin said the aero club had a number of existing conditions that were “quite old” attached to its permit.

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“Council received a number of complaints from various community members about noncompliance of the club with this Sunday curfew during the past year,” he said.

Mr Vevers said the proposed restrictions would put jobs at risk, as teaching pilots to fly in the dark would have to happen during the week.

“I would have thought flying around on a school night, which we are trying to avoid, would be more disruptive to everybody,” he said.

“There is nothing to be won out of all this — it’s just to appease new people who have just moved in the area.”

@AleksDevic