Representation by David Gale
- Date submitted
- 19 November 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I object to this unnecessary and speculative proposed expansion of Gatwick airport. This ACE pledge statement of net zero by 2040 conflicts with this proposal; [REDACTED] The undesirable extra 100,000 flights a year suggested would mean that the airport would be serving 75 million passengers by the end of the 2030s, over 100% increase on the already huge, 32.8 million in 2022, who pass through Gatwick airport annually at the moment. In 2022 it served 32.8 million passengers, an average of more than 89,000 people per day. The airport also serves as a freight hub across its two terminals, handling a volume of 150,000 tons of cargo per year. This would represent over-development of Gatwick, the surrounding road and housing infrastructure (through associated employment and travel) and the Southeast of England overall. Even if 100% of vehicles travelling there were electric, any additional road use would add air and ground pollution (including PM10, PM2,5 and plastic litter), as it always has and continues to do. Highways authorities do not even try to prevent or ameliorate this and they rarely clean up litter, choosing instead to largely continue to maintain verges by mowing, cutting plastic into smaller fragments, rather than collect litter first. Lockdown was blissful in the unique AONB High Weald area, as almost no planes flew over for months and there were fewer car journeys in the usually crowded Southeast of England. The day to day effect was an increase in wildlife and biodiversity visibility and bird song. Nightingales, skylarks and cuckoos were audible for the first time in many years. Nightjars and even a very rare southern European Skops owl were audible for the first time ever, all from our house and garden. Gloworms came into the garden. Since then noise, light, air pollution and noise nuisance from circling planes and car journeys has increased, almost back to pre-pandemic levels in TN6, similarly in SW16 where I also spend time. In SW16 plane noise frequently wakes us in the early morning, despite double glazed windows being closed - this could become the case in TN6. Gatwick chose to lay off a large number of workers over lockdown. This demonstrated the business serving only its own short term interests, not the long term ones of their employees and their families. There have been many issues since then, with air traffic control software glitches, low staffing levels, Gatwick staff strikes, train strikes and poor quality, long term development work. Gatwick is not a pleasant and welcoming place on arrival in the country, nor on departure. With the above and climate crisis need for necessary travel to be adjusted to quickly ELIMINATE GHG emissions and air pollution, I have therefore chosen to use rail, including Eurostar and TGV, or rail and road (with local car hire), via the Chunnel rather than support Gatwick airport for travel in both the UK and Europe. We should encourage others to do the same, not reward speculating businesses who may find that estimated flight numbers actually decline in future. If flight numbers do decline, it would leave the proposed airport expansion vulnerable to being turned into yet another housing development. This could lead to further over-development of the Southeast of England and sacrifice of biodiversity. Gatwick may argue that larger inter-continental planes could make the airport financially viable long term, but they would of course, cause more noise nuisance and air pollution than existing ones. Even the smallest, lightest, most cutting edge, proposed electric airplanes have a range of approximately 500 miles, a range easily covered by more sustainable rail travel, so they are not a viable alternative. Green hydrogen and alternative fuel powered planes also seem many years off, if viable at all. Gatwick appears to have made little effort to source its electric power sustainably and renewably in the TRUE sense of these words, ie not including nuclear generated power.