Representation by Louise Elizabeth Hall
- Date submitted
- 19 November 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I live in East Sussex, an hours journey away from Gatwick Airport. The locality of my home is both in an AONB and a conservation area. I have concerns about the proposed development at Gatwick from several aspects, all of which have an intrusive impact on residents who don't even live near the airport. The increase in use of the airport for the last decade has seen many more aircraft over East Sussex skies, resulting in increased noise levels and the inevitable unseen pollution. I have previously attended a meeting regarding this (when all the flight paths changed) and supported by Nus Ghani, where the representatives of the airport (CEO) and their "noise experts" appeared to be well conversed in impact statements and reports about their perceived levels of noise, but no experience of what was actually going on on the ground, or how it was affecting people who live underneath flight paths, especially at night. In one case an official made an untrue statement in front of the whole meeting, and henceforth the believability of anyone representing the airport has been in question. The drive for development of a second runway appears to be solely for monetary gain, and despite protestations that development will provide more jobs, it will also provide increased vehicular traffic, increased air traffic, increased noise, increased pollution. This will affect people in a huge area, and I that ALL Gatwick Airport's surrounding counties have raised concerns. Do we really need another runway? Do we need to be the biggest airport in Europe in a small area in SE England? Why? What about the resulting environmental damage intensive escalation of flights will have? In addition, the area around the M23 is not equipped to deal with a huge increase in traffic, and the M25 is already hugely over used and at a standstill regularly because of volume of traffic. Once again, big ideas but with very little thought as to how existing infrastructure will be stetched to the limit. When I first moved to the SE and started using the M25 it had 2 lanes each way and was a normal road....now eg at Reigate there are double the amount of lanes and they are full all the time. In addition, there seems to be a very weighted argument by the airport in favour of the airport and what the airport wants... very little regard for people who support its environs with their council taxes. I hope that as a planning inspectorate you will listen to all points of view, and consider the long term effect unecessary development at the airport will have on Sussex's people and the beautiful and protected environment we cherish. I can foresee that in the near future, if planning is granted, we will be told that two runways are now not enough...and a third is needed, then a fourth. Where do you draw the line? Gatwick is already big enough.