Gatwick airport expansion: people have till 29th October to register…
Gatwick has now had its expansion plans – to convert its emergency runway into a full runway, for take-offs only – accepted by the Planning Inspectorate. This is part of the DCO process (Development Consent Order) as the Gatwick expansion is called as a project of national significance. So the plans will go into the examination process, by which organisations and members of the public can give their opinion on the plans. This means submitting evidence and applying to appear at the public hearings. The cut off date to register to be an “interested party” is Sunday, October 29th. That means people can give their opinion at a later date. People can register online. After October, 29 the Planning Inspectorate then has 6 months to carry out an examination. During this time registered commentators will be invited to give further details about why they have responded in the way they did. The inspectorate’s report will then be sent to the relevant Secretary of State, who will make the decision to grant or refuse development consent. . Tweet Gatwick airport expansion: All you need to know now plans are up for debate The planning inspectorate are asking for members of the public to tell them what they think of plans for a second working runway By Victoria Ship (Surrey Live) 12.9.2023 The expansion of Gatwick Airport is moving forward, and you can now give your thoughts. Despite controversy throughout the years, plans for a second runway have now been accepted by the planning inspectorate for examination. This means that they are now looking for the opinions of those that will be affected. The multi-billion pound plan will give Gatwick a working second runway, which the airport says will bring more passengers, planes and jobs to the area. This does not mean that they will build a second runway from scratch. Gatwick already has a Northern runway, which is currently only used when the main runway is out of action or to taxi planes. These new plans would change this to mean that both would be in constant use. Some building work is needed to get things off the ground.. Firstly, Gatwick will need to reposition the northern runway by moving its central line 12 metres north. On top of this the Airport will need to build new infrastructure to withstand the increased passenger numbers that more flights would bring. With all of these extra planes taking off the rebuilding effort will not stop at the runway. Gatwick is hoping that the £ 2.2 billion investment will make room for an extra 100,000 flights an year. This would mean that the airport would be serving 75 million passengers by the end of the 2030s, a big difference from the nearly 33 million who pass through its doors annually at the moment. These extra planes means Gatwick is also looking to expand its infrastructure. The Airport is also looking to build extensions to the north and south terminals, as well as a new hotel and office space. Gatwick has said that “most” of this construction will take place “within the current airport boundary.” Who is against the plan? Vocal opposition to the plans has already come from Surrey councils as well as environmental campaigners. Groups such as the Gatwick Area Conse
