Representation by Mr Peter Johnson
- Date submitted
- 7 November 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I STRONGLY OBJECT TO GATWICK AIRPORT'S EXPANSION PLANS FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS. Jobs* 'New jobs' mainly zero hours and low paid - salaries insufficient on which to base a mortgage for living in the area. Any employment boost mainly short-term and insecure - move towards increased automation. Gatwick currently unable to fill vacancies at the airport No guarantee that contractors use for work in the construction period will be local - supply chain for big projects usually brought in from elsewhere Local impact Construction phase will be up to 15 years - Horley will become a building site. Nearby areas of land will be purchased and residents relocated from their homes Part of Riverside park will be lost and some residential areas will end up right next to the main road. Transport Huge increase in traffic and congestion on local roads (additional lane and expanded roundabout at Longbridge) Proposed active transport plans (bus, train, cycle, walking) are insufficient - not providing any extra rail services, for example. Increased off-airport ‘nuisance’ parking - i.e. on our residential roads - already a big problem in the area Noise Significant increase in aircraft noise for those 1. living near the airport 2. further away under flight paths. More road noise from additional lane, larger roundabout out and increase in traffic 15 years of noise from large construction area Proposed noise envelope Gatwick is not consistent with government policy or industry guidelines. Water & Flooding Area is a floodplain and at higher risk of serious flooding with increasing extreme weather events Inadequate mitigation - using 40 years where it should be 100 years for risk planning. Large additional water needs - not addressed by the plans. Increased waste water processing demands - not addressed by plans. River Mole will be impacted - already classed as ‘poor’ Economic and ‘need’ case Economic benefits have been overstated whilst costs have been ignored and/or understated. Benefits are based on growth in business travel but this is not happening - growth is only in leisure flights which take money out of the UK economy rather than bring it in. The only people to benefit will be Gatwick's shareholders. Overall case for expansion does not comply with the Airports National Policy Statement Carbon emissions and air pollution Big increase in CO2 emissions and other climate effects associated with airport operations and flights. Increase in CO2 emissions and other climate effects associated with construction works and increased road traffic to the airport. There are currently no proven technologies for reducing aviation emissions at scale. Air pollution increases from increased flights/traffic - measurement is poor and modelling inaccurate. I am against this and wish my comments to br recorded as such.