Representation by The Newbery Household (The Newbery Household)
- Date submitted
- 26 October 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
We oppose the Gatwick Airport application for a northern runway on the following grounds: 1. The application does not comply with government policy to decarbonise the aviation sector.If anything the application will make it considerably worse. The thrust of government policy is to help the aviation sector to "build back better and greener" not to help the sector damage and pollute the environment more than it does already. 2. Growth in Airport capacity is only justified where overriding benefits can be shown in spite of the damage and harm it will cause the environment and the lives of people affected. 3. This application will put back the aviation sector's ability to achieve net zero by 2050. 4. This application will do nothing to unlock benefits locally (or more widely) and level up. It will increase the disparity with other regions. 5. The Airport is currently struggling to recruit sufficient staff for its current operations. 6. Housing in the vicinity is already at a premium. The additional staff needed to run an enlarged Airport will only increase demand for housing. The demographics in the area are already unbalanced and weighted towards high end earners. Any additional housing pressure will make it even more difficult for young people and low earners to get on the housing ladder. 8. The increased road traffic from an enlarged Airport will add further pressure on already inadequate and congested roads. Staff commuting to work from outside the area because they can't afford or there is insufficient affordable housing in the area will aggravate the situation significantly. 9. A significant increase in aircraft activity will result in a significant increase in aircraft noise. That is no longer acceptable in the southeast until other regional options where jobs and infrastructure are desperately needed has been properly explored. 10. The local infrastructure, transport and rail links, housing, public services are already overstretched. In short this application makes no sense