Gatwick support withdrawn

A second County Council has withdrawn its support for another runway at Gatwick Airport because of the high level of local opposition.  West Sussex County Council (WSCC) voted by 37 to 26 to reverse its decision in July 2013 to support expansion of the airport.

Kent County Council withdrew its backing for a second runway in November, because of new flight paths.

"The issue of a second runway at Gatwick is an extremely emotive subject," said Councillor Pieter Montyn.  "Councillors believed that Gatwick has not, to date, put forward sufficient evidence to counter the very serious environmental and noise fears of local residents.

"However, irrespective of our position, our role now is to start planning for the future.

"The decision about the runway will be made by Government so we have a responsibility and duty to plan for either scenario – second runway at Gatwick or not."

The Council's official response to the Commission is contained in 20 pages of improvements it believes should be made before any proposal to expand Gatwick is submitted to the Government.

However, unanimous support was given to the Council continuing to engage with the Government, residents, businesses and Gatwick Airport Ltd to ensure the County gets the best deal possible from whatever future decision is made by the Government. www.westsussex.gov.uk/your_council

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