Gatwick expansion: Decision day for £2.2 billion Northern Runway plans

Transport secretary Heidi Alexander is making the decision, and the odds are she will give the project – which will see around 100,000 more flights a year – the green light.

Speaking at the annual dinner of trade body Airlines UK in London on Tuesday evening, Alexander said: “I have no intention of clipping anyone's wings. I am not some sort of flight-shaming eco warrior. I love flying – I always have. This Government believes in increasing airport capacity. We're ambitious for the sector. But these strict criteria must be met if we are to balance the needs of today with the necessities of tomorrow."

Gatwick, which is the world’s busiest single runway airport, wants to reposition the repositioning the centre line of the Northern Runway 12 metres north to allow dual runway operations, aligning with international safety standards.

Construction could start this year and be completed and ready for operational use by the end of the decade. The airport says proposals are low impact, with most construction taking place within the current airport boundary.

They also expect the project to create around 14,000 new jobs and inject £1 billion into the region's economy every year.

The Northern Runway plans are privately financed plan it would help the airport meet future passenger demand by serving around 75 million passengers a year by the late 2030s. Gatwick currently handles around 43 million passengers a year. With two runways, the estimated maximum capacity is 75 million, close to Heathrow’s current 83.9 million.

In a recent growth speech, Chancellor Rachel Reeves backed a third runway at Heathrow, and this was seen as positive news for Gatwick and it’s expansion plans.

But the plans face significant opposition from campaign groups such as the Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign (GACC), Communities Against Gatwick Noise Emissions (CAGNE) and Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE). With more flights, there will be more noise and air pollution for local residents and the groups are preparing legal challenges if the plans are given the nod.

GACC held a rally on Wednesday, February 26 at Riverside Gardens in Horley. The location is on the north eastern boundary of Gatwick Airport and already suffers the highest air pollution measured in the local area. We caught up with GACC vice-chair Jonathan Essex and Cllr Victoria Chester, whose Horley East & Salfords ward is next to the airport, at the rally. You can watch video interviews here.

The planning process has been a long one with Gatwick first submitting it’s plans on July 6 2023. In December 2023, a public consultation after making changes to its plans including a more sustainable solution for water treatment.

The examination process ended in August and the Planning Inspectorate submitted its report in November.

At Gatwick’s economic summit in November, the airport’s CEO Stewart Wingate said: “"It's a project which we've been working on for about seven years now and we're getting very close to finding out what the government decision is. By the late 2030s there's no reason why the airport shouldn’t grow to 75 million passengers should this £2.2 billion project, which would be fully privately funded, be given the go-ahead in the new year.

"If it is given the go-ahead, which we very much hope it will be, 14,000 additional jobs across the region will be created, adding a further £1 billion to the regional economy.

“So, from our perspective, this is an incredibly important project. We've worked really hard, so we're hoping early in the new year that finally, after seven years of work, we will have permission to take this project forward to the benefit of the regional economy.”

Crawley MP Peter Lamb told us recently that whatever happens, there will be no standing still and Gatwick will still evolve. But he addressed the environmental impacts. "Whatever comes out has got to be something that's viable for the area and that's really what my viewpoint is” he said. “Growth is not a bad thing by itself but it's got to come with those bits which enable that growth to be viable. You've got to make sure that you've got that transport infrastructure, that you've got the housing, these things have actually got to deliver for the local community.

“If you haven't got that then it becomes more of a problem and so it's never the issue by itself, it's about making sure that the whole thing in the round actually delivers to the area.”