Airports Commission ‘glossed over’ noise from Heathrow, claims Gatwick

 
Challenge: Gatwick, above, lost out to Heathrow in the Airports Commission’s final report on expanding capacity (Picture: Carl Court/Getty Images)
Carl Court/Getty Images

Gatwick today accused the Airports Commission of “largely glossing over” noise blight from a third runway at Heathrow after it backed the development at the west London airport.

Sir Roy McNulty, Gatwick’s chairman, is writing to David Cameron to voice his concerns about the Commission’s final report. “Our view has always been that the assessments on which the Commission’s conclusions are based must be thorough, balanced, fair and well-evidenced,” he said.

“We believe that the Commission’s report falls short of this standard in a number of very important respects.”

The Sussex airport alleges that:

The “huge differential” in noise impact between the two airports is largely glossed over, arguing that 320,000 people will be newly affected by Heathrow expansion compared with 18,000 at Gatwick.

The Commission largely ignored that Heathrow already breaches legal EU limits on air pollution even without a third runway.

It under-forecast future traffic at an expanded Gatwick.

It downplayed the “very considerable delivery risks and financial challenges” of Heathrow expansion.

It accepted most new traffic over coming decades will be to European markets but recommended a solution almost entirely focused on long-haul.

Gatwick also challenged the panel’s conclusion that the economic benefits of Heathrow expansion would be greater than a second runway at its rival, claiming that the latter option would have enhanced competition.

The Commission, chaired by Sir Howard Davies, decided that another runway could be built at Heathrow even if it did not meet EU limits on air pollution, provided that it did not delay London complying with them.

The panel also believes that fewer people would be affected by noise from a three-runway Heathrow than currently, because of quieter planes.

Gatwick is seeking to persuade the Government to reject the panel’s recommendation and opt for expansion in Sussex. It has so far stopped short of challenging the findings in the courts. The Government has pledged to make a decision on airport expansion in the South-East this year.

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