Representation by Newdigate Parish Council (Newdigate Parish Council)
- Date submitted
- 12 September 2023
- Submitted by
- Parish councils
This expansion which will nearly double the size of Gatwick will affect our local village enormously: Currently our rural roads are being used by increased numbers of speeding motorists and this will only get worse with no road infrastructure improvements to accommodate the increase of passengers/workers to Gatwick. At present, we are the overflow for the M23 and motorists who need to travel from East to West (and vice-versa) to access the airport. This has impacted residents enormously by making walking, cycling or horse-riding on our country roads dangerous as often we have no footpaths and blind bends which require careful and considerate driving. With no investment from Gatwick into the road infrastructure either with road or rail improvements this expansion is short sighted and irresponsible and will make the areas around Gatwick an inhospitable place to live. At present, no local people can access the rail station without paying a surcharge to use it and the current bus network does not provide a service from many of the local villages ie. Charlwood, Newdigate, Capel, Rusper or Leigh with regular buses to the airport. However these are the places that would be most affected either by the increase usage of local roads or the noise and pollution from the airplanes overhead. This airport is owned by a French company who do not pay tax to the UK and are appearing to be only interested in increasing profit margins and rewarding their stakeholders. In addition, for many years Charlwood has seen open fields used for parking of customer cars which then offer a collect and drop of service. Some are illegitimate but many are not. Drivers are employed without the correct insurance to ferry these cars at often high speed without thought to the local villagers and tail-gating residents who are keeping to the speed limit. As many as 500 movements in a day have been registered through Charlwood by reckless drivers. This has impacted families walking, children cycling and the elderly who visit the amenities in the village they live. Many of the villages mentioned have listed and historic buildings with residents who cherish and love the area they live in. Their charm and and healthy lifestyle that they offer will be lost forever if this expansion is permitted. Let's protect our rural villages for now and the future generations. Please note our objection to this planning application, use of the emergency runway to increase flights and passenger capacity is in fact a proposal for a second runway which was refused.