Calls to halt Gatwick expansion following Heathrow decision
A campaign group wants plans for a second runway in West Sussex to be scrapped
Last updated 16th Dec 2020
Environmental campaigners have called on Gatwick Airport to halt their plans for future expansion, after Heathrow was granted permission to build a third runway.
The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday (December 16th) that the London airport would be able to expand following Government approval.
It overturns a previous Court of Appeal verdict which found ministers had unlawfully failed to take into account the promises made in the Paris climate accord.
Now the Campaign Against Gatwick Noise and Emissions (CAGNE), which represents communities across Sussex, Surrey and Kent, has said the decision means Gatwick is 'doomed to remain a single runway airport'.
Bosses at the West Sussex airport released a masterplan in October 2018 based around bringing the 'northern' runway, currently only used in case of emergencies, into regular use to deal with an expected increase in air traffic.
But CAGNE says that the decision to allow Heathrow to expand would limit the expansion of regional airports, due to the impact on the Government’s aim to reduce carbon emissions.
A CAGNE spokesperson said:
"We call upon Gatwick Airport management to stop their intention to resurrect plans in 2021 for expansion, and remove the blight it currently has on the communities of Sussex, Surrey and Kent.
"To rebuild the emergency runway as a second runway would add nearly one million tonnes of additional carbon onto the forecast 0.95 million tonnes that Gatwick state will be released by them in 2028.
"It is not just the carbon that residents should concern themselves with, but also the false economic benefits that Gatwick states that they offer.
"Time and time again, local communities are put into a roller-coaster of economic decline due to the volatility of Gatwick Airport’s business plan that relies on low cost European leisure travel."
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