Gatwick's Northern Runway Proposals — Noise, Pollution & Traffic Worries

Wednesday, 25 October 2023 07:40

By Huw Oxburgh, local democracy reporting service

East Sussex County Council has raised concerns about climate change, noise and air quality as part of its initial response to formal plans to open Gatwick’s Northern Runway.

On Tuesday (October 24), council leader Keith Glazier signed off on the authority’s submission to the Planning Inspectorate in response to Gatwick Airport’s application to begin routinely using its standby runway.

This application — submitted in July — is considered a nationally significant infrastructure project, so will be decided by the secretary of state rather than any local planning authority.

As part of this, local councils are submitting their views for consideration.

In its submission, East Sussex County Council raises a range of concerns, including the proposal’s ecological, economic and infrastructure impacts. These points arose from a full council debate held on October 10.

Among other things, the submission raises fears that Gatwick’s plans to reduce its carbon emissions may have an ‘over-reliance’ on new and emerging technologies, such as Sustainable Aviation Fuels.

It also calls on the government to consider what impact the airport’s growth will have on the strategic road network, as well as East Sussex County Council’s own highway network.

It also asks the government to ensure the necessary rail infrastructure is in place to accommodate the increase in demand and capacity.

The submission also raises concerns about air quality, particularly in relation to the Ashdown Forest Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and Special Protection Area (SPA).

It also raises concerns about noise and ‘strongly emphasises’ the need to restrict flights to certain hours or cap the number of night flights to reduce this impact.

Papers for the meeting note that the council will have further opportunities to raise its views during the pre-examination and examination stages of the application process.

The Planning Inspectorate keeps a website referencing comments and proposals, here.