The transport secretary is “minded” to approve Gatwick Airport’s plans for a second runway but only if it accepts certain revised requirements, it has been announced.
Heidi Alexander on Thursday gave the £2.2bn project a ministerial nod of approval should the airport agree to some additional demands.
These include noise mitigation and the extent to which passengers will use the local public transport network.
Gatwick, which hosts Europe’s busiest single runway, has until 24 April to respond to the demands before a final decision is made in October.
The expansion would pave the way for more than 100,000 extra flights per year by the end of the decade and comes as nearly every major London airport pursues its own proposals. Heathrow, the UK’s busiest hub, intends to submit an application for a third runway this summer, while London City and Stansted have already been granted approval.
Luton Airport awaits a decision on its project in April.
Gatwick’s plans involve bringing Sussex airport’s emergency runway into routine use, enabling it to tap into a range of new long-haul routes and massively increase passenger capacity.
It will see the centre line of its back-up northern strip, which is traditionally used for taxiing, moved 12 metres further north alongside extensions to both of its terminals.
Labour has positioned airport expansion as a key part of its bid for economic growth in the UK, but critics say there is already sufficient airport capacity to meet future demand without Heathrow and Gatwick’s projects.
The Climate Change Committee on Wednesday published its recommendations on how to cut greenhouse gas emissions. It found aviation emissions would need to fall by 17 per cent by 2040 to hit carbon targets.
It also said limiting airport expansion and capacity could play a “supplementary role” in curbing demand, but that increasing taxes such as air passenger duty (APD) would be more impactful.
Gatwick argues the project will create 14,000 jobs and bring in £1bn for the UK economy, while allowing it to best rivals such as Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.
Karim Fatehi OBE, CEO of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) said: “London’s status as a leading global city for business, tourism and trade is heavily reliant on the strength of the capital’s transport network.
“Growth cannot come without investment in new infrastructure, which helps businesses to reach new customers and forge new trading relationships.”
However Rosie Downs, head of campaigns at Friends of the Earth, said: “At a time when we should be doubling down on climate action, given the weather extremes we’re seeing globally and near daily warnings that our planet’s health systems are at breaking point, signalling support for Gatwick’s expansion is totally bewildering.
“Expanding Gatwick won’t deliver the growth needed – but it will increase the carbon emissions exacerbating the increasingly severe storms, floods and heatwaves that are costing lives, as well as air pollution and noise for people living nearby.
“Pressing ahead with airport expansion in the hope that new technologies can magic away these emissions, without the evidence to show they’ll work at scale, is incredibly reckless.”