UK government approves second runway at Gatwick airport

Plans to build a £2.2bn second runway at London’s Gatwick airport were given the green light by the government on Sunday evening, with ministers hoping that planes could be using the new facility by the end of the decade.

Heidi Alexander, transport secretary, approved the scheme after requiring the UK’s second-largest airport to meet tougher conditions on noise abatement and public transport. Labour officials claimed the move was “a no brainer”.

“There remains a nationally recognised need for aviation development, particularly in the south of England,” the approval letter, published on Sunday and running to 107 pages, stated.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has told ministers to accelerate progress on big infrastructure projects as he seeks to show his government is serious about boosting growth.

Alexander’s allies said the transport secretary had moved as swiftly as possible to navigate “a needlessly complex planning system” to provide extra airport capacity for London and the South-east.

Last month, Heathrow airport unveiled plans for a £49bn expansion that included building a third runway and rerouting Britain’s busiest motorway, telling ministers they needed to “clear the way for take-off”.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said she hoped Heathrow would see “spades in the ground” before the next election, which must happen by 2029. The Gatwick scheme is much more straightforward, with all of the major work taking place within the airport’s existing perimeter.

Stewart Wingate, managing director in the UK for Vinci Airports, the majority Gatwick shareholder, said: “We welcome the government’s approval of plans to bring our northern runway into routine use, ahead of the expected deadline. This is another important gateway in the planning process for this £2.2bn investment, which is fully funded by our shareholders.

“It is essential that any planning conditions enable us to realise the full benefits of the project and do not impose unnecessary constraints that make it uneconomic to invest in. We now need to carefully examine the details of the planning consent. Once we have done that, we will be able to comment further.”

Kenton Jarvis, chief of easyJet, Gatwick’s biggest customer, said: “EasyJet welcomes the government’s pro-growth agenda which recognises the importance of aviation as an enabler of economic growth.

“We also support the government’s plans to modernise airspace, which is going to be crucial for the industry to achieve sustainable growth.”

Attempts to kick-start airport expansion in the London area, on hold for decades, is one of the most visible signs of Starmer’s attempt to prove he is backing growth-creating projects in spite of environmental objections.

A planning bill to boost housing is going through parliament and Labour officials say Starmer will bring forward a second planning bill next year to speed up big infrastructure projects.

Government officials concede that if the Gatwick scheme is subject to a judicial review, a process that the second planning bill would aim to curtail, then the project could be delayed.

Airport officials believe a judicial review could add another 12-18 months on to the timeframe.

On Sunday evening, opposition group Communities Against Gatwick Noise Emissions (CAGNE) said it was planning to bring a judicial review “funded by residents and environmental bodies”.

Alexander said in February she was “minded” to approve a second runway, but only if Gatwick agreed to change its plan by adding more stringent targets both for access to the site by public transport and for noise mitigation. 

In its response, Gatwick said use of public transport “is not entirely within its control, particularly in relation to rail services”. It proposed a flexible system that would allow its runways to operate even if public transport links, such as the Gatwick Express, were not working.

It also promised that some works, such as for a new car park, would not begin until national highway links had been upgraded, to prevent congestion.

Alexander’s letter said that, while Gatwick’s “revised approach introduces more flexibility, it must also provide sufficient assurance that target mode shares will be met”.

On noise pollution, the secretary of state agreed a limit of 51 decibels for 135 square kilometres around the site during daytime, and 45 decibels for 146 square kilometres at night.

The £2.2bn project, which would be funded by existing shareholders, would expand capacity by moving the emergency landing strip 12 metres to the north.

Relocating the strip — which doubles as a runway when the airport’s main runway is out of action — would put enough space between the reconfigured runways so that both could operate simultaneously.

The first flights could take off by the end of the decade, Gatwick has previously said, and an expanded airport would be able to handle up to 75mn passengers a year by the late 2030s, up from the record 46.5mn in 2019.

A government official said: “With capacity constraints holding back business, trade and tourism, this is a no-brainer for growth.

“This government has taken unprecedented steps to get this done, navigating a needlessly complex planning system, which our reforms will simplify in future.

“Any airport expansion must be delivered in line with our legally binding climate-change commitments and meet strict environmental requirements.”

Among the conditions for approval of the second runway is a requirement for the operator to help affected householders, for example by providing triple glazing or paying for moving costs.

The Planning Inspectorate had recommended refusing Gatwick’s original proposal but, unusually, said it would approve the project should changes be made.

The agency, which handles decisions on land-use planning, had demanded in February that the airport adopt a legally binding target of 54 per cent of passengers arriving by public transport, compared to 47 per cent currently.

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