Representation by Ward Family (Ward Family)
- Date submitted
- 18 October 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
We are against the expansion of a second runway at Gatwick Airport due to the impact this will have on Crawley and the surrounding areas. The M23 and M25 are suffering from the volumns of traffic as it is now. The additional passengers would turn the area into one big car park. There are problems with vehicles parking all over Crawley in residential/commercial areas so as not to pay the normal car parking fees, or not being able to book a slot as they are all full. Residents are getting more and more angry with cars arrivings in their area, a taxi coming, taking people off to Gatwick day and night, and them leaving their vehicles where parking is already a problems, taking up residents parking spaces. They are now parking lines of vehicles on roads on the industrial estate, none of this is right. Putting in a second runway increases the flights, day and night, more noise, more pollution, the impact of which has yet to be determined. The impact of people living close to or near the airport with you having to close all windows and stay indoors at most peak times as it stands now. Air quality in this area impacts on children as well as adults, particularly if they have any chest problems. This also impacts on our hospitals and doctors who are all over stretched as it is. There are other airports in the UK that have the capacity for expansion, why can't they look elsewhere. This is all down to money and paying out dividends to shareholders. We all know we live near an airport and must expect some inconvenience, but would never have expected things to develop to this level. Yes the aiport creates jobs, but most of those jobs are taken by people who do not live adjacent to the aiport, many people travel (carbon footprint) to get to their jobs at the airport from places like Brighton, Bognor, Horsham, Croydon, and the surrounding counties. We are sure the big bosses proposing these changes do not live in any areas which will be greatly impacted with expansion plans.