Representation by James Lee-Steere
- Date submitted
- 6 November 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I oppose the Gatwick Airport application for a northern runway for the following reasons: Principally because It s a new runway – and so it obviously does not comply with current government policy or the Government’s Aviation Strategy. This is because, As you are well aware, Gatwick does not have 2 runways that it can operate concurrently today. The proposal is trying to create 2 runways that can operate concurrently and therefore a new runway is being constructed. Further, How would the expansion of the airport help the UK in meeting its net zero targets? It doesn’t. The additional runway would result in a significant increase in carbon and Greenhouse gases. Ockley is already impacted by significant aircraft noise. My understanding is The proposal would increase the number of flights by 100,000+ to a cap of 386,000. This would further exacerbate an already grave situation for the residents of Ockley. The proposal does not provide sufficient affordable housing locally or suitable infrastructure to enable the expansion - and there is already significant shortfall of both in the surrounding area - thus this will exacerbate an already significant issue. The M23 is an unsafe smart road - and the proposal would result in a large increase in congestion on the already saturated existing network. This is unsustainable without major overhaul The train line is at breaking point and can’t be expanded - how can it meet the demands of additional passengers without complete overhaul Does the applicant expect the local council to raise taxes for local residents to pay for these necessary works? The applicant places great weight on the jobs being created but there are limited benefits to the jobs being proposed - they are low skilled and short term and so should not carry much weight at all. I will write further with additional information once I understand the proposals further but I believe all the above reasons are each individually valid reasons for rejecting the application