Representation by Lynne Ormond
- Date submitted
- 5 September 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I strongly object to the expansion of Gatwick Airport for the reasons given below. The Gatwick Coordination Group set out its objections to the Gatwick proposal in its response to the Airports Commission’s consultation in January 2015 and I believe these still stand. Although I am not directly under the flightpath, the noise-pollution being created by departing aircraft by Route 4 (westerly) has significantly increased and, for periods of time has been intensive and incessant which has been quite unbearable. Although the Noise Preferential Routes (NPRs) were established in the 1960s and have not been altered, these are quite wide corridors and when I first moved to the area in 2009, we did not experience any noise (or extremely limited) from the airport operations. This is no longer the case, it is now extremely intrusive, notwithstanding there has been no change to the NPRs. My property is approximately 0.8 nautical miles south of the NPR, so, in theory, should not be seriously impacted by departing aircraft flying on a distributed route. However, that is not the case. In recent times . Gatwick has been operating to the extent I thought that the airfield had reintroduced RNAV1 (Precision Route Navigation, notwithstanding the removal of these by the CAA following the judicial review. I did contact Gatwick about this and was informed that it had not reverted to RNAV1, but that when the airfield is operating in a westerly direction, aircraft disturbances from departing aircraft will be increased. Aircraft can also be “vectored” off route by ATCs for a variety of reasons. Whatever the reasons/excuses given, the noise has become intensive and incessant - and this is without any increase in size of the airport. A second runway at Gatwick Airport would be a catastrophe for surrounding communities. The additional aircraft noise would have a disproportionate effect on previously tranquil communities, devastating the quite enjoyment of where I live and the local countryside. The aircraft noise shown in the vicinity of where I live is shown to regularly exceed 55 decibels and often above 60 decibels on webtrak. Expansion of the airport will only exacerbate this. Traffic in the area is already challenging – the M25 is the route used by lorries crossing to and from the continent and is heavily congested. The local rural roads are also congested and not designed for the anticipated increased volume of traffic. The expansion of Gatwick will increase congestion and pollution.