The Anonymous Widower

Gatwick To Accept ‘Stricter Limits’ On Plane Noise

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.

This is the sub heading.

Gatwick Airport has said it will accept stricter limits on aircraft noise and has put forward what it called improved plans in response to the government’s approval for a second runway.

These two introductory paragraphs give a bit of detail about the deal that seems possible.

Last month Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said that she was “minded” to give consent for the airport to bring its second runway into use.

Gatwick has now responded to the Secretary of State’s letter with what it called an “improved noise scheme for local residents.”

This certainly appears to be a fruitful start to negotiations.

The airport also seems to have put forward a package of proposals.

• The airport said it accepts a requirement to have 54% of passengers using public transport before it brings the Northern Runway into operation. – but it needs support.
• Gatwick said it needs help from others, including the Department for Transport, to meet the target.
• The full Gatwick Express train service should be reinstated.
• If the 54% public transport target is not achieved then an alternative cars-on-the-road limit should be met instead.
• If neither the public transport mode share or the cars-on-the-road limit are met, then the second runway would be delayed until £350m of road improvements have been completed.
• The airport also responded on sustainable design and reducing emissions.

I also think, we should note, that Heidi Alexander was seen at Newton Aycliffe, at the launch of Grand Central’s new trains, which I wrote about in Arriva Group Invests In New Battery Hybrid Train Fleet In Boost To UK Rail Industry.

It does seem, that after one trip to Hitachi’s factory in the North-East and she has softened her attitude on open access operators.

Perhaps, the sushi was excellent?

Since that trip to the North-East, Arriva Group have put in another application for an open access service, which I wrote about in Arriva Group Submits Open Access Rail Application To Connect Newcastle And Brighton, Via London Gatwick.

This proposal could mean the following.

• Lots of neglected places between Newcastle and Brighton get an improved and better connected rail service.
• Gatwick gets extra trains, which will increase the proportion of passengers going to Gatwick by train.
• Arriva Group’s owner ; I_Squared meet one of their corporate objectives of improving transport links.
• This could help the airport meet the conditions for a new runway.
• Hitachi get an order for a few more trains.
• An optimist, might even think, that this deal could result in some exports of Hitachi trains.

Being a politician, Heidi will claim the credit, if it all works out well.

April 26, 2025 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Aviation, Gatwick Airport, Gatwick Second Runway, Heidi Alexander