Airports

Gatwick Airport is located directly to the south of the borough. As such, activity at and around the airport affects the borough. 

We are therefore represented on the Gatwick Airport Consultative Committee (GATCOM), which is the statutory advisory body for the airport. Further information on the role of GATCOM and previous minutes please visit GATCOM's website. 

Flight Paths

Gatwick Airport Limited (GAL) is currently undertaking two airspace change proposals in accordance with the guidance detailed in the Civil Aviation Authority's CAP 1616 Guidance:

• Gatwick Redesign of Departure and Arrival Routes and Procedures (FASI-South)
• Gatwick Route 4 - Redesign of RNAV SIDs

Given that several borough residents are affected by overflight from Gatwick Airport, we are actively involved in these airspace change proposals. 

Historically we have also made a number of representations to consultations on Gatwick flight paths.

Noise

Information on aircraft noise is available on the Council's Environmental Health webpages.  

Future Developments at Gatwick Airport

Airports are required to produce masterplans every five-years. The latest masterplan was produced in July 2019 following public consultation between October 2018 and January 2019.

• Gatwick Masterplan

In July 2019, GAL announced their intention to actively pursue bringing the existing standby runway into routine use alongside the main runway (Scenario 2 of the Masterplan). GAL also recommended that national and local planning policy should continue to safeguard land for an additional runway to the south, should this be required in the longer term.

Subsequently, GAL started work to prepare Development Consent Order (DCO) application under the Nationally Significant Projects (NSIP) regime to bring the standby runway into routine use for smaller departing aircraft. This is a rigorous statutory planning process overseen by the Planning Inspectorate. 

To inform the content of the DCO, Gatwick Airport Limited have undertaken two rounds of consultation. The first, held in autumn 2021, considered the Preliminary Environmental Impact Report. The second held in summer 2022 focused on the proposed Highway Alterations associated with the Northern Runway Project along with some other associated detail updates.

Gatwick Airport Limited submitted their DCO application for the Gatwick Northern Runway on 6 July 2023. This was subsequently accepted by the Planning Inspectorate on 3 August 2023. Following the Prehearing on the 27 February 2024, public hearings were held between 28 February and 01 August 2024. The examination closed on 27 August 2024. During the Examination there were 10 deadlines when key information was submitted and published.

The Examining Panel have submitted their report with recommendations to the Secretary of State for Transport on the 27 November 2024. The report will not be released into the public realm until the Secretary of State's decision has been made. The Secretary of State has until 27 March 2025 to determine the application though there have been some recent cases where the deadline has been extended. Once the application has been determined by the Secretary of State, there will be a 6 week period when legal challenges can be made to the decision. Any such challenges would need to be decided through the legal process. Details of the application and its progress can be found on the Planning Inspectorate's website.

More information on the Development consent Order Application process is available on the Planning Inspectorate's website.