Letter: Creating a monster

The new plans are set out in a 3,200 page document that has been sent to the Airports Commission but has not yet been published denying residents the chance to study them in detail.

The summary shows that the new airport would be bigger than anything previously envisaged. The maximum number of passengers up to 97 million compared to a maximum of 87 million in the consultation. That would make Gatwick much bigger than Heathrow today at 72 million in 2013 and nearly three times as Gatwick today at 35 million. These plans would mean nearly three times as many people travelling to or from Gatwick by car or train so it is ridiculous for Gatwick to pretend that this could be dealt with by longer trains and improving junction 9 on the M23. The number of jobs attributed to the new runway has jumped up to 122,000 far more than the 17,500 previously forecast by GAL. The result would mean a large scale inward migration of workers. Large scale house building and a massive rise in pressure on hospitals and schools, and goodbye to green fields.

To shoe horn in this massive expansion between Crawley, Horley, Charlwood and the surrounding areas would create a monster and blight the lives of thousands for miles around. And then the now owners of this airport will sell it at a massive profit and walk away.

Andy Clark, Crawley