Representation by Sarah Campbell
- Date submitted
- 14 November 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I strongly oppose the Gatwick Airport application for a northern runway because: We live directly under the flight path with the noise & air pollution from aircraft landing & taking off directly above our house becoming increasingly intrusive. We are 10 miles from Gatwick, but even at this distance, in our house & garden, conversation is frequently interrupted by aircraft noise with night flights causing considerable sleep disturbance. The proposed huge increase in air traffic caused by a second runway will be intolerable. The proposal shows no financial provision for extra infrastructure in the surrounding areas: Gatwick currently is on a single main road, the M23. Surrounding the airport are numerous narrow rural lanes which are already over-burdened with excess traffic in & around the busy SE. Gatwick has made no provision for the huge increase in traffic which will result from its expansion during building, & then permanently when complete on roads that are currently in a poor state with cash struck councils having insufficient funds for repairs. There is no capacity for another railway. The only route serving Gatwick runs from London to Brighton & trains are already frequently very overcrowded. Gatwick are proud to announce their station has been improved & can now accommodate 40% more rail passengers, but with no extra train capacity this will add to overcrowding. There will be little long-term economic gain from the project. Employment at Gatwick is often temporary & full-time skilled jobs at the airport are increasingly being replaced by mechanisation. There is very little affordable housing locally for short term employees & the rural transport links in this area are known to poor. Many people have to travel to work at Gatwick by car thus increasing congestion & pollution on surrounding roads. Gatwick mainly serves the leisure industry, not business nor freight traffic & the larger proportion of travellers are outward bound, spending their money on holidays abroad not in this country. CLIMATE CHANGE Most companies are conscientiously making great efforts to de-carbonise their businesses, yet Gatwick Airport is proposing to increase carbon emissions by at least 50% . This will mean that Gatwick will be producing 5.5% of all UK CO2 emissions by 2038 despite all the scientific evidence that climate change is threatening our planet. The government must be fully aware that this expansion is completely incompatible with their target of net zero by 2050.