Gatwick Airport Northern Runway project proposal

Gatwick Airport Limited (GAL) wants to bring its northern ‘standby’ runway into routine operational use.

The runway is currently only used for emergency purposes or when the main runway is closed for maintenance.

The proposal would bring about a significant increase in both air traffic and the number of passengers using the airport.

This growth would require significant development at the airport to accommodate the increased activity and passenger volumes, including major extensions to existing facilities, new hotels, more car parking, major road improvements and extensive landscaping and ecology works.

Given the significant scale of the project, it is defined as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) to be determined by the Secretary of State through a process known as a Development Consent Order (DCO), rather than a planning application decided by Crawley Borough Council.

The council is able to submit feedback into the DCO process in its statutory role as a host authority, working with its neighbouring local authorities to scrutinise and steer GAL’s proposals to achieve the best outcomes from the project, should it go ahead.

More information on the  Development Consent Order is provided on the Gatwick Airport website and details of the Development Consent Order process can be viewed on the Planning Inspectorate website. 

For further information, visit our Gatwick Airport Northern Runway project page.