Brighton & Hove Council To Object To Gatwick Airport Expansion

The Greens have criticised Labour after a U-turn on the proposed second runway at Gatwick – even though the two parties are now effectively flying in tandem.

The two biggest groups on Brighton and Hove City Council object to the airport’s runway plan prompting critical remarks from Green councillor Raphael Hill.

Councillor Hill said:

“I appreciate you (Labour) have spoken in objection (and) I understand we don’t get the final say.

“(But) there’s a history of the Labour group on this issue having different views, particularly given the national context, as it’s not particularly clear what Keir Starmer’s view is on Gatwick.”

A council committee voted to ask a senior official, Donna Chisholm, to work on the council’s response to the consultation about the second runway proposal.

The official will work with Labour councillor Alan Robins, who chairs the council’s Culture, Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Economic Development Committee.

He told the committee yesterday (Thursday 14 September):

“We’ve been absolutely transparent in what we’ve said. We haven’t said one thing and done another.”

A week earlier, on Thursday 7 September, the Labour council leader Bella Sankey said that the council would object to the application.

She said: “As a council, we have declared a climate emergency and aim to become a carbon-neutral city by 2030.

“We’re also signed up to the Charter for Clean Air and committed to improving air quality. Supporting Gatwick’s proposal to bring its second runway without key climate change tests being met would contradict these aims.

“We are clear that any airport expansion must pass our tests on air quality, noise pollution and delivering economic benefits while enabling us to meet our obligations on climate change.

“The proposal for Gatwick, at present, does not meet those tests.”

Clockwise form top left: Alan Robins South Portslade Labour, Jilly Stevens Brunswick Labour, Rh Raphael Hill

Labour councillor Jilly Stevens said that anyone could respond to the consultation, adding:

“We’ve made it clear that we are not supporting this. There is not going to be any change between now and when we submit our views.”

Gatwick has submitted a planning application to use its existing northern standby runway to almost double passenger capacity from 46 million to 80 million and increase freight capacity to 350,000 tonnes.

The plans include repositioning the runway’s centreline, reconfiguring the taxiways, extending the north and south terminals and building a new pier, car parks and four new hotels. Aircraft movements would be limited to 386,000 a year.

Council planning manager Jane Moseley told councillors that the scale of the project meant that it was considered “nationally significant”.

The planning application is due being handled by the Planning Inspectorate, with the decision made by the Conservative government’s Transport Secretary Mark Harper.

The committee, which met at Hove Town Hall yesterday, was told that the council’s comments would be made public before they were submitted.