Representation by Beth Martin
- Date submitted
- 11 November 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I oppose the Gatwick Airport application for a northern runway because it is a NEW runway – * Policy has been misinterpreted by the applicant as this is an applicant for a new runway which does not comply with policy, Government’s Aviation Strategy. * Gatwick does not have 2 runways ‘existing’ that it can operate concurrently today as such it is a new runway being constructed at night. * There will be a substantial Increase in aircraft noise – an additional 101,000 flights a year to a cap of 386,000. * There will also be a significant decline in air quality further as Gatwick ignores the far-reaching impact of road and air emissions created by its operations. * There is already a lack of affordable housing locally and this will be exacerbated. It will not be possible for workers to walk or cycle to work as the applicant proposes. And there is also a lack of amenities: hospitals, schools, etc * Low skilled jobs are offered with little job security due to the volatile nature of the airport’s leisure business. * Gatwick sits on a single main road, the M23 which is deemed an unsafe smart road. To add to the huge increase in freight, passengers and workers will cause a significant increase in congestion on residential roads and an inevitable decline in air quality. * The airport sits on the Brighton Main Line, which can’t be expanded. Gatwick seeks to add an unacceptable burden to the line with over 32m extra passengers and luggage. This line is already packed most of the time. * We face a climate emergency, and a new runway would add a significant amount of carbon and greenhouse gases – (Evidence CCC (2020) The Sixth Carbon Budget – Methodology Report. Available at: www.theccc.org.uk) Adding to the problems is simply unacceptable. * There is a huge potential for flooding and for sewage entering the river system I had to move away from my much loved home in East Sussex because of the excessive noise from planes flying low overhead coming in to land all night long. I cannot imagine the havoc a second runway will cause: it can only exacerbate this problem.