Representation by Philip R E Tapsfield
- Date submitted
- 18 November 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I object to Gatwick Airport's application for a northern runway on the following grounds: - This is an attempt to gain a second - i.e. new - runway at Gatwick Airport, as demonstrated by the fact that at this time Gatwick does not have two runways that can be operated concurrently. A new runway would not comply with the government's Aviation Strategy. - Were a new runway to be introduced it would lead to greatly increased aircraft noise and pollution: the product of upwards of 101,000 additional flights per annum. - The Gatwick area already has high employment levels. A second runway would therefore necessitate an influx of workers from outside the area. Where would they be housed? How would they get to work? We already have a shortage of affordable accommodation in this part of the country. Once concreted over, our green spaces would be lost forever. - The M23 can't cope with existing traffic volumes, never mind the extra that a second runway would inevitably generate. Regular users of the M23 know it is frequently congested and often unable to cope adequately with the demands placed upon it. Gatwick sits on this single main road. - Nor could the railway system cope with the extra passengers. The Brighton Main Line cannot be expanded. - We are experiencing a climate change crisis: demonstrably real and happening now. A second runway would inevitable lead to a substantial and damaging increase in greenhouse gas emissions.