Representation by Phil Belden
- Date submitted
- 25 October 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I strongly OBJECT to this proposal for a second runway at Gatwick Airport. We are at a time of unprecedented damaging climate change for the whole of humanity and life on Earth, yet we are doing precious little to address it. All the small, good deeds that are focused on tackling this issue are in danger of being completely undermined by proposals and developments that will make the situation worse. The recent and escalating extreme weather events are testament to this very real threat and highlight the need to act now, and fast, at a significant level and scale. A great many individuals are trying to do their bit, some corporations and others, but this is stifled by a lack of strong leadership, which needs to set firm policy, enforceable legislation and meaningful action. Gatwick Ltd is a dominant figure, not just in the south-east, but nationally and internationally. It should demonstrate leadership in this climate change era, not short-term profit that will ultimately lead to the longer-term demise of our planet, with terrible consequences to people locally and globally. This is not just about air travel. It's against government policy, which has ruled that any new runway should be at Heathrow. That said, the government's Climate Change Committee states that there should be no airport expansion. The impact on the south-east of increasing air and noise pollution, exacerbating the already too-high levels, is unacceptable. In this over-pressurised part of the country (where Levelling Up was instigated in an attempt to re-balance the economy, with a more equitable share to other regions) the knock-on effects of more roads and traffic, increased pressure on housing, with more house-building and other infrastructure, will make it even worse. This is just a bald summary, which I suspect the Examining Authority would prefer, as it wades through all the various information presented to it. As a result, I haven't attempted to go into the detail or respond to many of the various facets of this application. I hope this is taken into full account and I wish the examiners every good wish in reaching the right conclusion, independently. A tough job, with all the heavy lobbying, influencing and politics that is clearly apparent in this case.