Representation by Catherine Baart
- Date submitted
- 7 September 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
This is described as national infrastructure. However the benefits will accrue to a private company. The government's Climate Commission has stated that no airports should expand because of the increase this will cause in carbon emissions; the government has legally binding net zero carbon emission targets. Airports should only be permitted to expand when they demonstrate actual reduction in carbon emissions from flying as well as the existing airport itself and associated transport. The local disadvantages will be borne by local people in terms of: 1) more traffic congestion on local roads including passenger parking on residential streets, which is a brake on the local economy and causes the local authority to spend more public money on local roads. 2) increased noise from flights, including possibly night time flights, and from increased road traffic; 3) decreased air quality and therefore more NHS costs and loss of productivity due to poor health; 4) loss of a substantial number of mature trees which currently very effectively screen the airport visually from Horley, plus mitigating noise and air pollution; 5) increased water demand in a water stressed region Gatwick claims it will benefit the local area by creating new jobs; however it is not in an area of low employment - it is in an area where jobs are hard to fill; it seeks anyway to automate the jobs it creates; the jobs are relatively low paid but the surrounding area suffers from a lack of realistically affordable housing. Therefore the jobs are likely to be taken by non-local people, who will need to travel to work at Gatwick This employee travel will add to the congestion, air pollution and carbon emissions caused by the increase in passengers travelling to Gatwick. The majority of Gatwick's passengers are UK citizens going on holiday abroad, rather than people from other countries flying to the UK. Gatwick therefore serves to help UK people spend their money in other countries, which does not benefit the UK economy. Its claims that its expansion will support the local area and the UK economy need questioning.