Crawley Borough Council has been given £90,000 to pay for consultants to help it and other authorities respond to Gatwick Airport’s Northern Runway plans.
The council bid for the money from the government’s Innovation and Capacity Fund on behalf of ten other authorities across Sussex, Kent and Surrey
The airport aims to bring its emergency runway into routine use – a proposal which has been met with a lot of push-back from many councils, including those in Crawley, Horsham, Chichester and Mid Sussex.
West Sussex County Council also said it could not support the move.
The £90,000 will allow Crawley to appoint a range of specialist consultant support to work with borough, district and county councils in the area.
That work will assess the environmental, economic and social impacts of the increased runway use and identify effective ways to mitigate that impact.
A borough council spokesman said this ‘would ensure that communities surrounding the airport are protected from the adverse impacts of such growth and that they benefit as far as possible from improved infrastructure and employment opportunities arising’.
Gatwick is expected to submit its Development Consent Order application to the Planning Inspectorate early next year.
The proposals will be subject to an independent examination before the Secretary of State decides on the application, potentially in early 2024.
Atif Nawaz, cabinet member for planning and economic development, said:
“I’m pleased we’ve secured this funding because it will enable us to make sure – working with our communities and our neighbouring authorities – that we identify the maximum environmental protections as well as local employment and infrastructure opportunities for our communities.”
The council bid for the money on behalf of, East Sussex County Council, Horsham District Council, Kent County Council, Mid Sussex District Council, Mole Valley District Council, Reigate and Banstead Borough Council, Surrey County Council, Tandridge District Council and West Sussex County Council
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