Gatwick expansion: Campaign group ‘relieved’ Chancellor did not ‘voice her option’ on Gatwick in growth speech

Speaking to an audience of business chiefs at Siemens in North Oxfordshire, the Chancellor set out the government’s latest set of reforms to kickstart economic growth and drive up living standards across the UK by driving investment, getting Britain building and tackling regulatory barriers.

This included the announcement that the government supports and is inviting proposals for a third runway at Heathrow.

Ms Reeves added that there were live decisions being made on Gatwick and Luton airports - but did not indicate either way whether the Northern Runway plans would be accepted or not.

The £2.2 billion project will see the Northern Runway brought into more routine use and will increase its capacity to 75 million passengers per year by the late 2030s.

It is also expected to create around 14,000 new jobs and inject £1 billion into the region's economy every year.

But the plans have faced opposition from local and national campaign groups on environmental grounds.

CAGNE (Communities Against Gatwick Noise Emissions) are against any expansion and have said they will legally challenge a decision to allow two-runway operations at Gatwick. The Chancellor was expected to give the Gatwick plans the go-ahead in today’s speech, according to reports, but she did not, to the relief of CAGNE.

In a statement, a CAGNE spokesperson said: “It is the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Transport to decide if Gatwick is allowed a new runway, so CAGNE are relieved that the Chancellor has not voiced her opinion today. Gatwick’s new runway is not the answer if the Chancellor seeks to bring money into the UK purse.

“An airport as large as Heathrow, exporting UK residents out of the UK to spend, spend, spend overseas, reliant upon cheap flights will not help the UK economy, only the portfolios of Gatwick’s overseas shareholders. “In 2015, elected members voted to support a new runway in the south-east at London Heathrow Airport (2015 Airport Commission), as it offered the greatest benefit for the UK economy and would increase worldwide connectivity.

“Whether you thought this was the right decision or not, you must agree that elected members did not vote for a new runway at the West Sussex regional, seasonal leisure airport, Gatwick.”

The statement also claimed: “Gatwick is a major exporter of sterling overseas, through low-cost leisure airlines that are reliant on being ‘cheap’, so does not directly help the UK purse.”

It continued: “If you are mad enough to ignore the global warming impact of leisure flights, you can’t ignore the fact that the government is meant to be seeking to level-up, taking industry and funding north – so why spend so much taxpayer’s money on infrastructure to support a regional airport such as Gatwick, that brings little into the UK purse in the form of inward tourism?”

Stewart Wingate, CEO, London Gatwick said: “We welcome the support shown by the Chancellor in backing airport growth. Our privately financed, £2.2 billion shovel-ready plans to bring the Northern Runway into routine use will create 14,000 jobs and generate £1 billion a year in economic benefits.

“The Government has made it clear they do not want to delay major infrastructure projects and our privately financed, deliverable plans can be a major part of the drive for UK growth.

“We are already contributing over £5.5billion to the UK economy and supporting more than 76,000 jobs, but unless we can access greater airport capacity the UK will miss out on opportunities to enhance global connectivity and unlock further opportunities for trade, tourism and job creation.

“The project, which is due for a government decision by the end of February, could be operational by the end of the decade, if approved with the right conditions to allow quick implementation. "We have put forward a strong and compelling case focused around making best use of our existing infrastructure, minimising noise and environmental impacts and meeting the four ‘tests’ for airport expansion set by Labour.”