Representation by Caroline Bateman
- Date submitted
- 18 November 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I am a resident of Redhill, just 6.7 miles north of Gatwick airport, and am strongly opposed to the conversion of the emergency runway to a second runway with all the concomitant infrastructure - taxiways, terminals, piers, hangers, parking and slip roads - and all the additional carbon emissions and congestion on already congested roads. This is not just NIMBYism on my part. Of course I am concerned about increased aircraft noise overhead and the negative impact that this will have on my life and that of my family. And of course I am concerned about increased air pollution in an area that is already a hotspot for pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, benzene and PM2.5 and PM10 particles. But I am particularly concerned about the wider environmental impact of the airport. Gardeners and farmers are encouraged not to dig or till the soil to prevent the release of carbon dioxide, but are we to allow digging up vast swathes of land both within and outside the perimeter of the airport which will release countless tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere? How can this be justified? And for an airport whose raison d’être is to send British tourists overseas to spend money in other countries. This just does not make good environmental or economic good sense. Or rather, it makes good sense for those who wish to profit from the expansion of the airport at the expense of the air that we breathe and the countryside that many of us cherish. I am a resident of Redhill, six and a half miles away from Gatwick Airport and would therefore directly affected by any increase in flights resulting from the construction of a second runway. I am particularly concerned by: 1. The increase in noise more than 100,000 flights per annum. 2. The decline in the quality of the air that my family and I will breathe as a result of these additional flights. 3. The increase in road traffic to and from the airport on roads where traffic jams are frequent. The A23, M23 and M25 are extremely busy roads and delays are already a daily headache for local car and bus passengers. 4. Increased pollution and a decline in air quality from this extra road traffice 5. The sacrifice of yet more countryside in the surrounding area and the inevitable loss of valuable Wealden habitats and ancient woodland surrounding the airport. 6. The inevitable degradation of the wider area. 7. The increased likelihood of flooding as more countryside is covered with hard surfaces bearing in mind that this is an area of impermeable clay where drainage is poor and flooding frequent. Gatwick Airport has already been flooded. 8. Increased pollution from construction work. 9. And should we really be thinking of increasing travel by air when we are already seeing the effects of climate change. Caroline Bateman