Crawley Borough Council, on behalf of 10 local authorities, has successfully bid for money to support its work in responding to Gatwick Airport’s proposal to bring its northern runway into routine use.

The council has secured £90,000 funding from the government’s Innovation and Capacity Fund to appoint a range of specialist consultant support to work with borough, district and county councils in the area.

The consultants’ work will assess the environmental, economic and social impacts and identify effective mitigations, which would ensure that communities surrounding the airport are protected from the adverse impacts of such growth and that they benefit as far as possible from improved infrastructure and employment opportunities arising.  

Gatwick Airport intends to submit its Development Consent Order (DCO) application to the Planning Inspectorate early next year. The proposals will be subject to an independent examination before the Secretary of State decides on the application, potentially in early 2024.

I’m pleased we’ve secured this funding because it will enable us to make sure, working with our communities and our neighbouring authorities, that we identify the maximum environmental protections as well as local employment and infrastructure opportunities for our communities.

Cllr Atif Nawaz

Cabinet member for Planning and Economic Development

Crawley Borough Council

The council bid on behalf of, East Sussex County Council, Horsham District Council, Kent County Council, Mid Sussex District Council, Mole Valley District Council, Reigate and Banstead Borough Council, Surrey County Council, Tandridge District Council and West Sussex County Council.

Date Published: 04/09/2022