Campaign groups respond to Gatwick expansion decision as Government wins legal challenge to open second runway
The Court of Appeal have ruled against environmental campaign groups Communities Against Gatwick Noise Emissions’ (CAGNE) and Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign’s (GACC) application for permission to appeal the decision to bring London Gatwick’s second runway into full use.
Gatwick Airport’s Northern Runway can now be brought into full use after the Court of Appeal dismissed a legal challenge against the expansion project.
The decision brings to an end the campaign groups’ challenge of the Secretary of State’s decision to grant a Development Consent Order (DCO) paving the way for the expansion of Gatwick.
A spokesperson for CAGNE said: “Residents should be immensely proud of what they have achieved in holding Gatwick Airport’s shareholders to account. This proposed new runway will come at a significant cost to both the taxpayer and the planet.
“Today’s Court of Appeal ruling is a deeply disappointing reflection of recent changes to the legal process, rather than of the strength or commitment of our legal team.
“We firmly believed the judges understood the serious environmental impacts at stake, including the lack of sufficient sewerage treatment capacity to support an additional runway at this leisure airport.
“The legal process provides only specific routes for challenging a government error in judgement. As a result, we were unable to resubmit all the grounds that led the Planning Inspectorates to recommend refusal of this new runway application through the planning development consent order.
“We will now use the remaining funds raised to continue holding Gatwick to account. Our focus will turn to the proposed new terminal, the decline in air quality, and the airspace changes that were not permitted to be considered as part of this planning application.”
Peter Barclay, GACC chair, added: “We are very disappointed with the Court’s decision. We took this challenge as far as we could because we believed that the decision to allow Gatwick to expand was fundamentally flawed.
“It was not supported by government policy, would only serve to line the pockets of the airport and airlines, and would do so at the expense of local residents and the climate.
“The calculations carried out by the New Economics Foundation demonstrated that expanding Gatwick could harm the national economy. It is time for governments to wake up and realise that saying yes to the expansion of any and every airport will not kickstart the economy.
“Instead, its carbon intensive infrastructure will further lock-in aviation’s climate, noise and air pollution impacts whilst increase congestion on roads and public transport and blight local communities.”
While there is no further right of appeal, GACC said they will continue to use all lawful channels available to continue holding the airport to account and increasing people and political pressure to prevent this damaging scheme from going ahead.
GACC also thanked their legal team, Alex Goodman KC of Landmark Chambers, Gethin Thomas of 39 Essex Chambers and Alice Goodenough of Goodenough Ring Solicitors.