Representation by Chris Green
- Date submitted
- 23 October 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
• Gatwick’s expansion and the environmental impact of more frequent flights and the consequent increase in aircraft noise resulting from a greater number of overhead flights would have substantial noise consequences for local communities. This would be inconsistent with the government’s aircraft noise policies which require the industry to reduce and mitigate noise as airport capacity grows. • Many areas under current Western arrival routes already suffer from adverse noise impacts particularly when aircraft descent below 7000ft. Whilst the impact varies, depending on the manner and speed at which the descent is being flown, currently there is little or no protection for the huge numbers of people living under these flight paths. Before even considering expansion there needs to be evidence Gatwick has introduced and enforcing effective restrictions on speed and height and thus noise, without compromising safety. • Expansion of Gatwick will cause significant road traffic congestion, not just in the immediate vicinity of the airport, but across Kent Surrey and Sussex. Travel from locations not on direct rail lines is difficult or impracticable without using a car. The road network in Surrey Sussex and Kent contains few direct roads leading to Gatwick. The M23 is the only limited exception. Whilst access to Gatwick by rail may be easy from London or on direct rail lines most passengers arrive by car because of so few viable cross country rail routes. The failure to reinstate the Tunbridge Wells to Gatwick rail service is just one example. • Gatwick’s plans are inconsistent with the need to stay within 1.5°C global warming, reiterated at the COP26 climate summit in November 2021. An increase in emissions of the magnitude Gatwick’s proposals suggest will plainly be so significant that it will have a material impact on the UK’s ability to meet its carbon reduction targets. It would therefore be inconsistent with the Airports National Policy Statement (ANPS). More broadly, any increase in Gatwick’s emissions would be inconsistent with the Government’s principal objective in this respect, which is “to ensure that the aviation sector makes a significant and cost-effective contribution towards reducing global emissions” and with the Transport Decarbonisation Plan commitment to achieving net zero aviation by 2050. • The Airports Commission “unequivocally and unanimously” selected Heathrow for any expansion: the government agreed, and parliament has since overwhelmingly endorsed that decision. Any expansion of Gatwick ignores the scope for airport expansion in other areas of the UK and is contrary to a balanced approach to UK airport capacity and expansion. • Tunbridge Wells is the largest town and conurbation in the area affected by Gatwick’s operations. It is Government policy that flying over densely populated areas should be avoided wherever possible, but any expansion will substantially impact the lives and health of the residents of Tunbridge Wells and its environs. Any expansion at Gatwick should be conditional on a ban on all night flights throughout the year for a full eight-hour period every night and a height restriction of 7000ft over conurbations except on final approach.