Gatwick to start new 6 week consultation, on its expansion plans, on 14th June
Gatwick airport says it will start a new statutory public consultation into its plans to turn its northern, standby runway into a full runway for departing flights. The 6-week consultation will run from 14th June to 27th July. The airport says the consultation will also have updates, including on the highway design changes, from the Autumn 2021 consultation, based on responses received. Full details of the revised plans for the roads around the airport will be published at the start of the consultation. There are changes to the plans for the North Terminal junction, and additional road lanes in two places. The main expansion proposal is to reposition the centre line of the northern runway by 12 metres, so planes can use both runways at the same time (though only departures from the northern runway). There are the usual claims about jobs and economic benefits … The only mentions of the carbon emissions are how, magically, more flights are going to help the airport “meet its goal of zero airport emissions before 2040.” Amazing. [That, of course, excludes the 10 million extra annual passengers]. They hope the runway could be operational by summer 2029.
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Gatwick announces additional focused consultation on its Northern Runway plans – with updated highways design
PRESS RELEASE: Gatwick airport
26 May, 2022
· An additional public consultation on updated highways design will run for just over six weeks from 14 June 2022 to 27 July 2022
· All materials and details on how to respond to the consultation will be available at gatwickairport.com/futureplans
· Gatwick will also update on other aspects of its proposals, following feedback received from the Autumn 2021 consultation last year
· Northern Runway plans would generate around 18,400 jobs and £1.5bn GVA to the region
Gatwick has announced that it will start a focused statutory public consultation on Tuesday 14 June 2022 about its plans to bring the airport’s existing Northern Runway into routine use alongside its Main Runway.
The consultation will focus on the airport’s updated highway design, which has changed in response to feedback received during the Autumn 2021 consultation. It will run for just over six weeks, until 11:59pm on Wednesday 27 July 2022.
Full details of the revised plans for the roads around the airport will be published at the start of the consultation and will newly include proposals to:
- Significantly redesign the original plan for the North Terminal junction
- Add a new lane westbound over the Brighton main rail line
- Add a third lane to the A23 approaching Longbridge roundabout
The plans for the South Terminal roundabout remain largely unchanged.
When publishing the consultation, Gatwick will also provide an update on other aspects of its Northern Runway plan, following feedback from the initial public consultation last year.
The UK Government has also today published its 10-point plan for Aviation – a strategy designed to build an industry that is not only fit for the future, but one that is also world leading. Gatwick’s plans align closely with the Government’s strategy to rebuild consumer confidence, build back sustainably from the pandemic, support jobs and build a skilled and diverse workforce that is fit for the future.
The airport’s proposal would see the airport’s Northern Runway brought into routine use, for departing aircraft, by repositioning its centre line further north by 12 metres – enabling dual runway operations with the airport’s Main Runway. The Northern Runway could be operational by summer 2029.
The majority of the construction works associated with the airfield would be contained within the existing airport boundary and the cost of works – approximately £500m – will be privately financed. The proposals are also low impact, are in line with Government policy of making best use of existing runways and would generate approximately 18,400 additional jobs by 2038 and an additional expected £1.5bn GVA to the region.
The project will also be delivered in a sustainable way which helps the airport to meet its goal of zero airport emissions before 2040.
Stewart Wingate, CEO, Gatwick Airport said: “When we launched our initial public consultation last September, we wanted to hear from people and interested groups on our plans to bring our existing Northern Runway into regular use alongside our Main Runway. Following feedback on our proposals, we have listened and taken the decision to amend several aspects of these plans, particularly our highways designs, so we are keen to get further feedback from local people and other stakeholders on these updated changes before we take our plans forward.”
Materials to support Gatwick’s latest consultation will be made available on the gatwickairport.com/futureplans web pages from 14 June 2022, along with details on how to respond.
NOTES
About Gatwick Airport
Gatwick is the UK’s second largest airport and flies a range of both short and long-haul point-to-point services. The airport is a vital piece of the UK’s national infrastructure and is also a major driver for both the regional and national economies. In 2019, a new long-term partnership was formed with VINCI Airports which purchased a 50.01% stake in the airport.
About VINCI Airports
The world’s leading private airport operator, VINCI Airports operates more than 50 airports in 11 countries in Europe, Asia and the Americas. Thanks to its expertise as a global integrator, VINCI Airports develops, finances, builds and manages airports by providing its investment capacity and its know-how in optimizing operational performance, modernizing infrastructures and managing their operations and environmental transition. VINCI Airports is the first airport operator to have committed to a global international environmental strategy in 2016, to achieve the goal of net zero emission across its entire network by 2050. For more information: www.vinciairports.com @VINCIAirports www.linkedin.com/company/vinci-airports/
About Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP)
GIP manages the remaining 49.99% interest in Gatwick, is an independent infrastructure investor that makes equity investments in high quality infrastructure assets in the energy, transport and water/waste sectors. GIP has US$68 billion of Assets under Management. Its 41 portfolio companies operate in over 51 countries with more than 67,000 employees and generate annual revenues of circa US$51 billion. For more information on GIP please visit http://global-infra.com
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See earlier:
Gatwick expansion consultation ends 1st December – its plans would have ‘few benefits’ and many negative impacts
November 26, 2021
The Gatwick consultation on its plans to use its northern, standby, runway as a full runway, ends on 1st December. It is important that anyone who has strong views on the issue submits a response, even if a very brief one. The impact of the expansion would be to hugely increase noise, carbon emissions, local road and rail congestion, air pollution, light pollution and more. The airport is trying to talk up its plans, with extravagant and improbable claims of the number of jobs that might be created locally, and the positive economic impact. Local campaign group, GACC, has prepared extensive comments to the consultation, to help people respond. Also a short, quick version that people can use – or ideally adapt into their own words – to express their concerns. GACC says Gatwick’s plans “would have few benefits but serious climate change consequences and devastating impacts on local communities and people under flight paths.” Any increase in jobs would be by displacement from other regions and would be inconsistent with the government’s ‘levelling up’ plans. And its case for growth simply doesn’t stack up and the consequences are unthinkable.
Click here to view full story…
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Gatwick public consultation begins on plans to convert standby runway to full use as 2nd runway
Gatwick airport has started a public consultation on its plans to bring its standby runway, just north of the main runway, into routine use for departing aircraft – alongside the main runway. It means having to reposition the centre line of the standby runway, moving it 12 metres north. That then just meets international runway safety standards. The consultation ends on 1st December 2021. Due to the size of the proposal, increasing the annual number of passengers by over 10 million, it is classed as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project. Therefore Gatwick will next have to apply for a Development Consent Order (DCO) to build and operate the altered runway. This consultation is not the DCO application itself. Gatwick hopes to get consent to start the first stages of the runway process by 2023, starting actual building work in 2024, with the runway finished by 2029. The work is expected currently to cost £500 million – there are extravagant claims about numbers of new jobs and local economic benefit. This growth is in addition to more growth by increased use of the main runway, but that does not need a DCO application. Gatwick’s annual CO2 emissions could rise by a million tonnes.
Click here to view full story…
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