Representation by Patrick Nolan
- Date submitted
- 21 October 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
There are numerous ways in which this proposed expansion would negatively impact the quality of my life. There are also numerous ways in which this proposal is inconsistent with the government’s legal obligation to meet net zero carbon emissions by 2050, but I will leave those argument to bodies better able to elucidate them. At a personal level, I am concerned about: - Aircraft noise. I live in a zone that has been contested for several years regarding flight paths. Aircraft from Gatwick generally take off in a westerly direction, which is towards the villages of Capel, Beare Green and Coldharbour. During this phase, their engines are very loud. This causes disturbance particularly in early morning, which interrupts my sleep, my family’s sleep and the sleep of others in the area. Expanding the aircraft traffic will heavily exacerbate this problem, particularly since additional flight paths will no doubt be required. - Traffic. The A25 passes directly through Dorking. However, Dorking has some narrow roads, which necessitates a one-way system. This one-way system can easily become gridlocked when traffic levels are elevated with traffic moving either east-to-west on its way towards Reigate, or west-to-east from Reigate. This situation is not unusual, particularly when there are problems on the M25, leading drivers to seek alternative routes on local A-roads. If Gatwick is expanded, the marginal extra traffic on the A25 is likely to be a cliff-edge change that leads Dorking to become frequently impassable. - Infrastructure. One argument put forward in favour of the expansion is that it will provide extra jobs. However, those extra people will need extra places to live, and this will also bring a need for extra schools, extra hospitals and doctors, extra policing, extra public transport and all the other extra things that a larger functioning society requires. There is nothing put forward about how all this required extra infrastructure is to be met, nor where it would be sited. The wider area around Gatwick is already struggling with inadequate provision of these infrastructure elements, and creating additional population in the area will make it worse.