A Gatwick campaign group has raised ‘serious concerns’ about the proposed expansion of Gatwick Airport with Crawley MP Peter Lamb also highlighting issues in a statement provided for their AGM.

In their latest statement, CAGNE (Communities Against Gatwick Noise Emissions) has warned that the £2.2billion project to bring the Northern Runway into more routine use ‘could expose the local economy to renewed instability while worsening housing pressures and climate impacts’.

The second runway plans were approved by the Government in September last year but a legal challenge against the decision was filed against the decision in November, claiming officials unlawfully failed to properly assess the environmental impact of the project.

The deadline for the High Court’s ruling is the end of this month.

CAGNE and other protestors outside the High Court

placeholder image — CAGNE and other protestors outside the High Court

A London Gatwick spokesperson said: “After a lengthy and rigorous planning process, during which all aspects of the Northern Runway project have been scrutinised and carefully considered, the Secretary of State for Transport approved our plans on 21 September 2025. The hearing for the judicial review claim against the decision has now concluded. We have participated in the proceedings as an Interested Party and now await the outcome. However, while legal proceedings are in progress it would not be appropriate to comment any further.”

CAGNE said it would continue to hold Gatwick Airport to account regardless of the court’s eventual decision.

A spokesperson for the campaign group said: “Local authorities are already stretched to breaking point. It is wrong that they should be expected to shoulder the costs of a new runway — from years of construction traffic on pothole ridden roads and worsening air quality to finding funding for affordable housing, schools and healthcare.”

In a statement provided for the recent AGM of Communities Against Gatwick Noise Emissions (CAGNE), Crawley MP Peter Lamb highlighted the dangers of over‑reliance on aviation for local employment.

“Crawley suffered a worse economic hit than anywhere else in the country due to our over-reliance on the aviation sector for employment,” Mr Lamb said.

And reflecting on lessons from the COVID‑19 pandemic, Mr Lamb said. “Since that time, the focus locally has been on diversifying the range of local employment, with significant public money going towards a number of projects designed to ensure we never again find ourselves having to deal with the situation I faced as council leader during COVID-19,” he said.

Housing was identified as a constraint by Mr Lamb, who warned that an estimated 14,000 additional workers and their families would present ‘a huge challenge for an area with the UK’s second worst housing crisis’.

“No council plan currently comes close to what would be needed to meet this increase in local demand,” he said.