Gatwick Airport has announced a focused statutory public consultation for its plans to bring the Northern Runway into routine use alongside the airport’s Main Runway.
The airport’s proposal would bring Gatwick’s Northern Runway into routine use for departing aircraft. This plan would involve repositioning its centre line further north by 12 metres to enable dual runway operations with the existing Main Runway. The Northern Runway could be operational by summer 2029.
The newly announced consultation will start on Tuesday 14 June 2022 and will run for just over six weeks. It will focus on the airport’s updated highway design, which has changed in response to feedback from the Autumn 2021 consultation.
Full details of the revised plans for the roads around Gatwick airport will be published at the start of the consultation and will include new proposals to redesign the North Terminal junction, add a new lane over the Brighton main rail line, and add a third lane to the A23. The plans for the South Terminal roundabout remain largely unchanged.
“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.”
The project would cost approximately 500 million GBP and would be privately financed. The proposals would generate approximately 18,400 additional jobs by 2038. The airport also says the plans would prioritise sustainability to help it meet its goal of zero airport emissions before 2040.
