Representation by Sare Bassett
- Date submitted
- 13 October 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
We object to the proposed expansion plans for the following reasons; 1) Noise – this it will lead to a significant increase in air traffic leading to noise and pollution impacting our community in Reigate. We currently have planes flying over our house every 2.5 / 3 minutes, it can become very stressful to live with that level of incessant roaring and wailing noise rumbling in the sky above us. Increasing flight capacity will create a further increase in noise. The noise from Gatwick increases year on year and this expansion will further spoil life quality and our peace. 2) Night flights -We already have the disturbance of night flights which Heathrow communities do not have to bear, so why should we. Night flights need to be banned altogether, not facing the prospect of expansion in this insidious level of disturbance at night. 3) Traffic - thousands of people still drive to Gatwick airport when they go on holiday, there is a tangible increase in the summer. Local residents cannot drive out and onto the A217 without queing at junctions due to traffic congestion, allowing extra capacity will choke the road network in surrounding areas. 4) Need – there is no need for this extra flight capacity. This expansion project is a greedy commercial venture aimed at making profit for shareholders 5) Ecology & Light Pollution – Gatwick Airport emits a continual ugly night time glow that stresses wildlife and creates light pollution. We would like this level of light pollution reduced, this continual brightness has an impact to the local birdlife and ecology. The proposed expansion site takes the runway right up to woodland and a buffer area, that holds flood water and reduces noise pollution, it is also home to wildlife, flora and fauna and this habitat will be eroded. 6) Transport Links – Gatwick has done nothing to improve transport links on our rail networks, their train links to London do not stop at Redhill and we cannot use the express trains with our normal tickets. This results in the impacted communities being excluded from any benefit in the rail network, further at the height of summer we cannot find seats or move for luggage dragged up the train isle so tourists can sit by their belongings, the trains don’t have enough space for the volume of suitcases. 7) Community – the community does not feel connected to Gatwick Airport, instead we feel inconvenienced and disrespected in the name of profit. Many impacts and erosions of our quality of life have been ignored by Gatwick Airports continual programmes of expansions thus far, and completely washed over like we have to ‘suck this up’. I have lived here since birth and seen the growth and detrimental impact of Gatwick Airport that has gone on over our generations. This is a time when communities are meant to have more control in what goes on around them, this expansion should not be happening, it feels corrupt and disconnected to what we need. We should not have to fight to retain our minimum standards and stop the erosion of our basic quality of life, Gatwick Airport is like a cancer in our community.