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Representation by Duncan Gibson

Date submitted
28 September 2023
Submitted by
Members of the public/businesses
  1. The environmental damage from increasing Gatwick's capacity to 75m passengers per annum is completely unacceptable. The UN Secretary General and all serious scientific leadership could not be clearer on this. 2. The impact today of noise pollution to those of us who live under the flight paths is horrendous and a major blight on our lives, increasing this still further has to be unacceptable. 3. Gatwick airports claims that this will have an economic benefit on the area (or even country) are inaccurate. The cost of the environmental damage from this proposal would far outweigh any benefit. 4. Additionally to my point 3, Gatwick airport's ownership and financial structures have enabled it to not pay UK corporation tax. It is inaccurate and misleading for Gatwick to claim that its growth is good for the region and country economically when it does not contribute to UK corporate tax. This proposed project would have a hugely detrimental impact on the local community already blighted by the noise and fuel pollution of Gatwick airport. The developers suggestion that the development would be good for local people and local business does not stand up to the most basic level of challenge and is frankly laughable. Perhaps Gatwick airport would like to consider restructuring its debt to contribute some tax before seeking expansion to drive its profits! In the coming years our population needs to learn to fly less, we already have the UN telling us that the world's climate is collapsing and that air travel is a major contributor to this. How on earth can we be considering increasing capacity at this time? I used to live in a peaceful rural community. Today I wake to the sound of jet engines and regularly the smell of aviation fuel in the air. This has a really material impact on the quality of life to those of us now blighted by Gatwick, the suggestion that this may increase is unimaginable. This development would be disastrous to the local community.