Campaigners fighting Gatwick expansion issue “State of Emergency” for the Sussex countryside

CPRE Sussex has taken the unprecedented step of declaring a “Countryside State of Emergency” in response to Gatwick Airport’s new expansion ‘Master Plan’, published on October 18th.  The Master Plan details the airport’s proposal to expand from one to potentially three runways. A 2nd runway created from Gatwick’s existing emergency runway could result in an estimated 14 million extra passengers travelling through Sussex to/from the airport every year. A 3rd runway to the south – on the “safeguarded” land – would add millions more passengers and require “significant changes to the airport and surrounding roads”.  “This plan would have a devastating impact on our countryside,” says CPRE Sussex Chair, David Johnson. “It would change the landscape and rural character of Sussex forever – scaring our Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) and deeply damaging the tranquillity and ecology of our National Park.” He commented: “It would be unthinkable to allow Gatwick to urbanise Sussex in this way, so we will be joining with all other community and conservation groups to oppose these plans”. We need to give our National Parks and AONBs more, and better protection – not risk ruining them with the impacts of developing an airport about the size Heathrow is now. 
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Campaigners fighting Gatwick expansion issue “State of Emergency” for the Sussex countryside

22.10.2018  (CPRE Sussex press release)

CPRE is the Campaign to Protect Rural England

CPRE Sussex has taken the unprecedented step of declaring a “Countryside State of Emergency” in response to Gatwick Airport’s new expansion ‘Master Plan’, published last week (Oct 18).

The Master Plan details the airport’s proposal to expand from one to potentially three runways. The figures show that a second runway created from Gatwick’s existing emergency runway would result in an estimated 14million extra passengers travelling through Sussex every year. A third runway to the south would add millions more passengers and require “significant changes to the airport and surrounding roads”.

“This plan would have a devastating impact on our countryside,” says CPRE Chair, David Johnson. “It would change the landscape and rural character of Sussex forever – scaring our Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) and deeply damaging the tranquillity and ecology of our National Park.”

“For this reason we are declaring our first ever ‘Countryside State of Emergency’ to protect what we hold dear – our rural communities and the natural beauty and tranquillity of our county. It would be unthinkable to allow Gatwick to urbanise Sussex in this way, so we will be joining with all other community and conservation groups to oppose these plans”.

Gatwick published details of its Master Plan last week when it announced the start of a 12 week consultation process (due to end January 10 2019). The document predicts that, with a second runway, the airport could be handling between 68 and 70 million passengers by 2032 – a figure not far behind Heathrow, which handled 78 million last year. In addition to this the airport also wants to safeguard the site for its third runway, “to meet longer term demand”.

“It is ironic that at a time when one Government department is looking to expand the protection of our beloved and treasured countryside another department could be allowing its destruction,” says David Johnson.

Earlier this month (October) the government launched its National Parks Review, pledging to enhance statutory protection for Britain’s National Parks and AONBs to “ensure designated landscapes are fit for the future”.

“We do not believe that the destruction of wildlife, our tranquillity, our dark night skies and clean air can be justified by the expansion of Gatwick,” adds Mr Johnson. “

CPRE Sussex has now written to the Environment Secretary, Michael Gove MP to detail its emergency campaign to safeguard Sussex’s rural communities, AONBs and National Park from Gatwick Airport’s Master Plan.

 

Notes for Editors:

 

For more information please contact:

 

David Johnson, Chair, CPRE Sussex:  07738 860256

 

Useful Links:

 

https://www.gatwickairport.com/globalassets/business–community/growing-gatwick/draft-masterplan-consultation-doc_18oct.pdf

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/national-parks-review-launched

 

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See earlier:

Gatwick opens 12 week consultation on using its emergency runway, for some take-offs, adding 30% + more flights

Gatwick has announced its draft “Master Plan” which (quote) “sets out how Gatwick can grow and do more for Britain.”  In order to cram more flights into a one-runway airport, they hope to make more use of their emergency runway, parallel but close to the main runway. It is too near to be used properly as a second runway, on safety grounds.There will now be a 12 week consultation period on the plans, and Gatwick hopes to finalise its plans some time into 2019. The plans also include how the airport hopes to “meet future aviation demand with sustainable growth” (sic) into the 2030s. Under its 40-year current planning agreement, Gatwick’s existing standby runway is only used when the main runway is closed for maintenance or emergencies. But Gatwick hopes it “could potentially bring its existing standby runway into routine use for departing flights, alongside its main runway, by the mid-2020s.”  This could mean a maximum of 390,000 flights annually (P. 88) compared to 290,000 in 2016, (ie. about 34% more.). That could mean up to 70 million annual passengers, compared to 43 million now – and a current theoretical maximum of 61 million (ie. about 15% more). “We would be able to add between 10 and 15 additional hourly aircraft movements in the peak hours.” (P.10)   Oh …. and  with no extra noise …. obviously….

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