Revealed: 'Out of control' wealthy businessman who assaulted parish councillor ... trends now
A businessman convicted of assaulting a parish council chairman in a row over birds' nests has also infuriated local residents for multiple breaches of planning rules at the private airport his company owns.
Chris Makin, 65, was convicted of assaulting Andrew Mason, 63, and fined £4,800 for dragging him by the hair and 'throwing him to the floor in a headlock' when he tried to stop contractors working for Makin from cutting back trees that could contain nests in the North Yorkshire village of Church Fenton.
It has now emerged that the parish council led by Mr Mason has played a key role in challenging Makin's family firm for allegedly breaching planning rules and carrying out works without permission at the Leeds East Airport site on the edge of the village.
Mr Mason, a property developer, said Makin's family firms based at the airport have a 'laissez faire approach to planning.'
'Things are carried out upon the airfield that don't have planning permission and it's only when they are brought to the attention of the planning and enforcement officers that any action seems to be done,' he said.
Businessman Chris Makin, 65, who was convicted of assaulting a parish council chairman in a row over birds' nests, pictured at the launch of Makin Enterprise's new business Makin Air
Mobile phone footage of the incident in the North Yorkshire village of Church Fenton where council chair Andrew Mason (left), 63, can be seen being dragged by his trousers by Makin
In the video, Mr Mason is seen lying on the floor and can be heard shouting 'get off me', as Makin tears at his clothes and hair trying to remove him from the front of the cherry-picker
Mr Mason said local residents were concerned about 'increased traffic' and the 'visual impact' of development at the airport.
The opposition to his company's activities may have been an additional factor behind Makin's treatment of Mr Mason – captured on video by another resident – when he blocked a cherry picker in April last year.
The parish council chairman certainly seems a popular character in the village, manning the till in the 'community shop' today.
Mr Mason described Makin as an 'arrogant obnoxious bully' and commented: 'Most people locally are aware of Mr Makin as he is a big noise in the village. People are supportive of me trying to protect the village.'
Makin's family firm bought the 450-acre RAF Church Fenton airfield site in 2014 and launched a private aviation service there.
Now called Leeds East Airport, it also has various business activities on the site, including a film studios, where the TV series Victoria was made.
The latest planning battle concerns an 'illegal' 'bund' or embankment built around the airport without planning permission three years ago.
The banking, intended to screen stored outdoor vehicles, goes around the perimeter of the site in a u-shape and is 15 metres wide and six
