Representation by Stephen Frederick Haysom
- Date submitted
- 7 September 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
Plans for 100,000 additional flights and 1m tonnes of CO2 in a rapidly escalating climate emergency is complete anathema; it directly conflicts with the government's legal and moral duty to tackle climate change. The government's 'Jet Zero' policy is based on bogus carbon offsets, fantasy fuels and totally incredible levels of carbon capture; expansion in aviation without any prospect of a technical solution to reduce carbon and other emissions is pure ecocide. Gatwick lost out when the Airports Commission chose expansion at Heathrow but its devious plan to get another strip by the back door typifies the way the airport operates; it is trying to justify it as adhering to the government's ludicrous 'making best use policy' which is in total conflict with what is needed if we are to hand on a habitable planet. Gatwick is a disingenuous and uncaring 'neighbour'; it's plans to effectively flip the bird at plans to achieve net zero by 2050 whilst handing the taxpayer a £9,100,000,000 bill to clean up the mess is entirely in character. Wingate says that building a new runway near the taxiway will be a major boost to the UK economy, and won't have a detrimental effect on the pathway to net zero; he appears to have scant acquaintance with the truth. He is also crowing that plans for Gatwick to be net zero will be brought forward by ten years, but neglects to mention that excludes the planes; a whiff of a £5m bonus can do that to certain types. Experience shows that the number of jobs created always falls short of airports' expectation and bucket and spade outfits are desperate to automate as many jobs as possible; this at a time when the very existance of the ultra-low cost carriers that Gatwick depends on is threatened by the cost of living crisis and the additional cost of adhering to carbon cutting initiatives. Gatwick has been the neighbour fom hell since it changed flight paths without consultation in 2014 and the CAA lied about public safety to excuse it; our village has been trashed by lower, concentrated flight paths ever since although Wingate maintains 'nothing's changed'. It plans to conduct 'Reduced Night Noise' trials to 'prove' that aircraft are now 'quieter' and that concentrating flight paths over a few makes things even quieter; spoiler alert - it doesn't - and ICCAN told the inconvenient truth - aircraft noise, particularly at night and particulary amongst women, costs lives. This is a cynical pump-and-dump ploy; it must not be allowed to cost our children the earth.