Councillor Lisa Scott (Charlwood and Hookwood Parish Council)
Charlwood Parish Council is disturbed that nether climate change nor air pollution are given a specific hearing at the start of this examination process. Along with noise, night flights and traffic congestion, these two factors have a significant impact on our community.
Charlwood Parish Council requests that this application is REFUSED. If the application is allowed, we require being party to the s106 agreement, and a condition in line with the following statement be agreed and applied.
With Manchester’s 2nd runway, open for around 20 years now yet only operating to 10% of it’s capacity, it is clear that the demand for more air travel is simply not there. Demand will reduce with the increasing number of people like myself, who choose not to fly. Many businesses had the forced experiment of lock down to test the move over to virtual meetings. The significant cost savings made, means the business travel market has stagnated and will not increase significantly and probably not at all.
Our Parish is located in very close proximity to the airport, flanking it on both sides, meaning our residents are impacted in ways and levels not experienced by others. It is unfair to expect our residents to suffer ill health, reduced quality of life and reduced lifespans in the name of cheap travel.
Air quality is known to have profound effects on human health and longevity and we require Gatwick to fully fund in perpetuity, an air pollution monitoring, with the results being made publicly available (full spectrum in order to future proof for future knowledge and understanding around the health impacts of air quality, like PFAS has been found for water).
Our community suffers significantly from noise pollution. We therefore require an expanded and altered noise monitoring and insulation program, both funded by the airport in perpetuity and results being made publicly available. Noise monitoring locations should be expanded to include currently unmonitored locations such as Hookwood. We are told that because Hookwood lies alongside the current emergency runway, we do not experience noise. I can assure you we already do.
I have personally recorded noise spikes of 81dB in recent days, and up to 90bD in 2023 in the Hookwood recreation ground, where numerous times I have recorded 75dB. These peaks in noise occur not only in line with certain atmospheric conditions, but also regularly there is a spate of just 2 or 3 extremely loud jets at around 06.30 on Sundays, followed by a move to quieter take offs. This is enough to wake people enough that they cannot get back to sleep. For many residents, this rest period on a Sunday is crucial for their productivity at work. This will only be further exacerbated by more flights.
In a report published this week, the link between noise and Cardio Vascular Disease and noise was made.
Mean noise is an inappropriate measure, as the peaks occur around every 3 minutes, this will be far more frequent with 2 runways in operation, the impact of repeated peaks is significant.
In order to protect our residents we require adherence to the 2014 offer of no night flights, or at least no night take-offs, which are noisier. T should be no night flights between 23.30 and 06.30.
There is a lack of capacity at local hospitals should there be a major incident. A flight attendant has explained to me how ambulances are not sent when called to attend sick passengers, instead, fire engines attend.
Our residents are already impacted by road congestion generated by the airport. In order to help minimise increased congestion caused by local traffic, by enabling local and short journeys to be safely completed on foot of by bike, we would require significant renovation / upgrade to all local pavements so that they are in mint condition. Where possible, this should be to LTN120 standard. Additionally, where there are ‘broken’ pavements, meaning the connection between homes / conurbations is not complete, these need to be connected. Examples of such locations include 2/3rds of a mile between Hookwood and Charlwood, and linking the residencies on the periphery of Charlwood to the village center. Ifield Road, Russ Hill and Stan Hill, and along Millfield Road, where the public footpath along the River Mole near Gatwick Museum should be extended to meet the road / pavement.
A rebuild of the junction of A217 and Mill Lane to traffic light controlled, and right turn allowed out of Mill Lane, needs to be funded. This will do some way to mitigate the estimated 9 – 11% of additional airport road traffic that is projected to travel through our Parish.
Within the airport boundary, we require the provision of pavement along side Perimeter Road North, linking Povey Cross with North and South terminal. The trees along here to be kept cut back. This route from Povey Cross is an easy walk for residents, and could be for many more if the pavements were upgraded as required above, allowing commuters and employees to safely walk / cycle to the airport.
The barrier at Povey Cross itself must remain in place and limited to it’s current accesses (increased busses would be welcomed).
We require the airport to provide at least a £5m infrastructure fund for Charlwood and Hookwood, to enable the Parish to implement future projects that are identified as suitable mitigations to impacts caused by the airport expansion that may not yet have been identified.
In addition, funding must be provided for the upgrading of the popular pavement / path from Longbridge Roundabout to South Terminal to LTN120 standard. The amount of use this path receives is already high, but could be significantly higher if the path were widened and the surface were renewed. It is imperative that this much used path remain for use by active transport users as it maintains the off-road link from the Westvale Park housing estate in to South Terminal. A vital commuter and employee route.
The Parish Council also requires a fit for purpose, direct access option for pedestrians and cyclists from Longbridge Roundabout to North Terminal. The current muddy, narrow public footpath in not fit for purpose and there are safety issues. And out of road cycle access must be re-established to North Terminal where currently, cyclists have to use the main roads and roundabout, along with all North Terminal traffic.
For the construction phase we see little in the way of HGV routeing control or dust control. Our residents must be protected from unnecessary increases in HGV movements, and the associated increase in dust. Therefore we require all HGV routes to be controlled and vehicles directed straight to the motorway. HGVs that are construction traffic are heavier than average. A significant fund must be provided to councils for the maintenance, upkeep and upgrade of our roads, in particular our rural roads.
Holiday parking by both private and by parking companies, plus mis-use by taxi drivers has meant nearly all roads in our Parish have been made into controlled parking areas by the use of yellow lines an permit parking locations. This means resident’s visitors have no-where to park, yet taxi drivers routinely ignore the restriction as they simply drive off when a parking enforcement officer arrives. Drivers use the verges and woodland as a toilet and litter bin. In order to address the serious anti-social behaviour exhibited by taxi and pick up drivers, we require the airport to work with local councils to fund, in perpetuity, the policing of littering and illegal parking. Ideally this would be done by ANPR in association with appropriate parking controls.
The Parish Council fully supports the comments by other councils on comments, for example, air pollution from Reigate and Banstead Borough Council.
