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Representation by Jane Elizabeth Fenwick

Date submitted
9 October 2023
Submitted by
Members of the public/businesses
  1. I strongly disagree with Gatwick having a second runway and object to the consequential increase in size and activity at the airport. 2. People living under Gatwick’s flight path - which includes Tunbridge Wells - have been suffering increasingly from excessive noise disturbance from planes approaching Gatwick to land by flying lower than necessary, and overflying Tunbridge Wells which is the largest centre of population in the area. 3. A second runway and the expansion of Gatwick's activity would significantly increase aircraft noise both for those living near the airport and for those further away under flight paths in East Sussex and West Kent. 4. There are limited night-flight restrictions at Gatwick which are far less restrictive than at Heathrow. Already there are scheduled long haul flights that arrive at anti-social hours including between 11pm and 3am and from 5am onwards.Some airports - including Frankfurt - recognise this problem and have banned night flights. This has not harmed their ability to be viable and major hubs. A ban on night flights should be a condition of any further expansion at Gatwick. 5. Expansion on the scale proposed would increase very substantially CO2 and other emissions. There will be other detrimental climate effects associated with Gatwick’s expanded operations and growth in flights. There are currently no proven technologies for reducing aviation emissions at scale. 6. Gatwick’s targets to increase how many people access the airport by bus, train, walk and cycle are insufficient to prevent a massive increase in road traffic around the airport. This increase in traffic would increase congestion and pollution on local roads and degrade the environment for cyclists and pedestrians. There would be an increase in off-airport parking and its associated access traffic. 7. The proposed growth at Gatwick will have a huge adverse environmental effect on our communities and countryside. It is damaging to local economies because of road congestion and aircraft noise overflying for tourist industries and outdoor activities particularly in summer. 8. The economic benefits of expanding Gatwick have been overstated by the Gatwick Airport Ltd. Significant economic, social and environmental costs have been ignored and/or understated.