CAGNE report shows how widespread and unacceptable Gatwick 2nd runway noise would be
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Gatwick 2 would create a “noise ghetto from hell” for Tory heartlands with expansion
§ Gatwick’s local communities side-lined as airport fails to develop strategy to deal with aircraft noise with expansion
§ Gatwick’s expansion plan will double the number of people impacted by night flights and create 24-hour “noise ghetto from hell”
§ Government decision to approve Gatwick expansion would act against all local councils and conservative MPs who stridently oppose Gatwick expansion plans
New research released today by CAGNE – Communities Against Gatwick Noise Emissions – has revealed that Gatwick’s expansion proposals violates Government policy on airport noise by failing to incorporate measures, which would reduce noise.
The shocking revelation comes as the Government prepares to make a final decision on airport expansion in the South East in September or October.
The Government’s aviation policy framework (see flight path document for policy details) requires that airports that expand to implement strategies to mitigate noise impacts on local communities. The new research shows that Gatwick’s expansion proposal ignores this requirement, and seeks to create a noise ghetto from hell for local communities in a 30 mile radius by:
§ Operating mixed-mode runways (ie. both take offs and landings on both runways) which offer no respite for overflown communities
§ Operating with no night flight ban, doubling number of people exposed to night noise with noise during every hour of the night
§ Operating without steeper approaches or displaced landing thresholds (to reduce noise not to increase runway capacity as used at present by Gatwick) which are easy to implement and have reduced noise at other airports
Gatwick’s lack of a noise mitigation strategy is in total contrast to the proposals submitted by Heathrow, that detail an apparently comprehensive plan to minimise aircraft noise for local communities by banning night flights, guaranteeing respite through runway alternation and working to change aircraft operating procedures.
If this can be done at one of the world’s busiest airports, Gatwick’s local communities are left wondering why these changes did not factor in the airport’s own expansion plans.
Sally Pavey, Chair of CAGNE said:
“No community in the UK is subject to constant aircraft noise but that’s exactly what Gatwick are proposing with their expansion plans which offer no noise respite for overflown communities and would create a 24-hour noise ghetto from hell by operating flights every hour of the night.
“I would remind the Prime Minister Theresa May that not a single local council or local MP – all of whom are members of her slim Conservative majority – supports Gatwick expansion. If her Government is serious about making big corporations behave responsibly, they must be decisive and kick Gatwick’s ludicrous back-of-an-envelope proposal into the long grass.”
To name a few areas to be hit by Gatwick 2 flight paths, (full details can be found on Page 6 onwards and proposals and a map of flight paths can be found on page 12 plus of the report below)
Sevenoaks
East Grinstead
Horsham
Broadbridge Heath
Godstone
Tunbridge Wells
Reigate
Ewhurst
Cranleigh
Godalming
Slinfold
Balcombe
Faygate
Seeking a fair and equitable distribution of arrivals and departures to the east and west for West Sussex and Surrey
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Image from the CAGNE report
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