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Gatwick Airport has confirmed plans which could eventually lead to a third runway.
The company has today announced it is going ahead with a masterplan which safeguards land for a third runway, which may have detrimental impact on Kent residents.
A draft plan was released last year, revealing ideas to increase the capacity of the current runway, routinely use an existing standby runway by the mid 2020s, and safeguard land for a potential additional runway in the future.
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Gatwick chief executive, Stewart Wingate reveals plans for the airport's future
Gatwick has reaffirmed these ideas in its final master plan, with an expected increase to around 70 million passengers a year by 2032.
The news has sparked anger in campaign groups across the region.
Richard Streatfeild, who chairs The High Weald Councils Aviation Action Group, says people living in Kent will be considerably affected by the extra aircraft noise.
He said: "The constant noise will make life intolerable.
"It will wreck sleep, reduce life chances and have a big impact on house value.
"We are not actually that near the airport but are still extremely badly affected by aircraft noise because of the way the route is flown.
"The used to be lots of minor air roads into Gatwick so noise was spread out.
"But now, in order to get more aircraft in, they are concentrated onto one motorway.
"This plan essentially adds another lane to that motorway."
Tom Tugendhat MP is against Gatwick's plans
Tonbridge and Malling MP Tom Tugendhat is opposed to use of the standby runway.
He said: "We have had a motorway built over our heads and it's just not on.
"If there is a request to use the second runway I am going to be opposing it and will do everything I can to ensure it doesn't happen."
Watch our KMTV report on the campaigners' fight
Sally Pavey, chair of Communities Against Gatwick Noise and Emissions said: "This is a total disregard for the current aircraft noise issues Kent and other counties are suffering, as well as a complete lack of understanding of global warming and pollution of our planet.
"With local authorities joining the climate change emergency efforts and the government ‘net zero’ announcement, we find it hard to see how either can ever support Gatwick’s plan."
Gatwick has claimed two thirds of respondents to a 12-week public consultation support the airport's intention to increase capacity.
The business also highlighted land for a third runway has been safeguarded since 2003 and emphasised it is no longer actively pursuing plans for an additional runway.
Stewart Wingate, chief executive said: "The development will be good for people and businesses in the region.
"The expansion will create about 20,000 new jobs of which 8,000 will be at the airport itself.
"Growth can be achieved while keeping the noise impact relatively similar due to new technology.
"In terms of a third runway, we are simply protecting the land, as advised by the Government. People in the future will decide how to implement a new runway, if at all."
"We are currently facing a climate emergency and the operations which run out of the airport are fuelling that emergency" - Richard Streatfeild
Mr Streatfeild added: "We do not need to see airport growth while we face an existential threat.
"We are currently facing a climate emergency and the operations which run out of the airport are fuelling that emergency.
"Gatwick are doing the wrong thing at the wrong time and are not taking their social, environmental or economic responsibilities seriously."
Gatwick added: “We do not have plans for a three-runway airport.
“We continue to be led by Government policy around ‘making best use of existing runways’ and therefore our master plan concentrates on how we could optimise our main runway and bring our existing standby runway into routine use.”
The next stage for Gatwick is preparing a planning application to bring the standby runway into routine use, including a further public consultation.
