Representation by Alistair Russell Watson
- Date submitted
- 28 September 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
The main concerns that I have are: Increased airplane noise. Increased flights. Increased air pollution. Increased light pollution. Increased traffic pollution. General infrastructure failings. The current road structure around Gatwick airport is already at an overcapacity. Any more traffic would cause road mayhem. If there is a problem on the M23 then vast areas around the airport would be gridlocked. There are a large amount of small towns and villages that will be destroyed by the increased traffic. The South East is already heavily over populated - this expansion will add to that issue. Gatwick Airport does not function efficiently in its current size, with recent high profile issues leading to some disastrous travel experiences for the paying public. Doubling the size of the capacity can not be realistically considered with the current airport functionality. Infrastructure projects of this size rarely end up in budget or on time. The power network is already stretched - where will the power supply come from. The water companies have a terrible reputation for failure - as seen in the recent massive fines. If they cannot provide a network now then there is no chance for the expansion. The support travel network, trains and buses, cannot support the doubling of capacity. The train network alone is limited by size, and militant work force. Buses and taxis will end up being gridlocked on the roads.