Gatwick's Draft Master Plan Consultation Closes

    WEST SUSSEX, ENGLAND, February 03, 2012 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Local residents, businesses, MPs and Councils were encouraged to feedback their views and opinions on Gatwick's plans for developing the airport to achieve growth on its single runway up to 2020.

- Over 1,700 members of the community participated in 24 consultation sessions
- Gatwick received 267 official responses to it's draft master plan for the airport
- Surface access and aircraft noise count among the most popular topics of local interest

Gatwick's three-month public consultation on its draft master plan, which sets out out its vision for the future, closed on Friday 13 January.

Local residents, businesses, MPs and Councils were encouraged to feedback their views and opinions on Gatwick's plans for developing the airport to achieve growth on its single runway up to 2020.

This has been the largest and most extensive public consultation held by Gatwick. Leaflets were sent to over 3,500 households inviting residents to attend an exhibition on their local high street and discuss the plans directly with Gatwick staff. 400 Council members, 43 MPs and 689 businesses also received letters encouraging them to participate and register their feedback.

A dedicated website was set up inviting members of the community to post their comments online. A freephone information line was established and a freepost address created to make it as easy as possible for people to register their interest. During the three month consultation period, Gatwick hosted ten days of public exhibitions and facilitated 12 workshops in six separate locations involving the participation of over 1,700 members of the community. Over 260 official responses from the community were received via all the channels made available to them.

Stewart Wingate, Chief Executive of Gatwick Airport said: "The level of response and participation from members of our local community has been encouraging and people are, by and large, supportive of our plans to grow to 40 million passengers per year on our single runway, two terminal airport.

"An initial review of the responses indicate that, uppermost on people's minds, are concerns about the impacts that achieving this growth may have on the road and rail network, and whether growth will lead to more aircraft noise. Like us, they want to see more and more passengers using the rail network or public transport to get to and from the airport, and like us they want to see quieter, more fuel efficient aircraft operating at the airport. Our draft master plan looked at those very issues and how they can be managed and we will certainly take a further look at these and other issues brought to our attention."

A more detailed analysis of the responses will now be undertaken and in February a further document will be published outlining in more detail what the key feedback to the draft master plan was. By June, Gatwick Airport plans to publish its final master plan document which will show, where possible, how it has have taken into account the views and opinions expressed by the local community and its stakeholders.

Notes to editors
Overview of the consultation process
- Three month public consultation period from13 October 2011 - 13 January 2012
- Ten days of public exhibitions at six separate locations
- Twelve facilitated workshops held at six separate locations
- Talks given at two lunch events
- Dedicated consultation website
- Letters to 398 representatives of 30 local County, District, Borough and Parish Councils
- Letters to 43 Members of Parliament
- Leaflet mail out to 3,568 residents and 689 businesses
- Over 40 separate articles or reports in press & media
- Freephone information line established - Freepost address created

In numbers:
- 1,637 members of the community attended a public exhibition, of which 184 people registered official responses
- 132 stakeholders attended a workshop
- 5,000 people checked in to review the dedicated consultation website, of which 79 people registered an official response
- 15 people left a response on the freephone
- 29 people sent in a response using the freepost address

About Gatwick Airport

Gatwick Airport is the UK's second largest airport and the busiest single-runway airport in the world. It serves more than 200 destinations in 90 countries for around 32 million passengers a year on short-and long-haul point-to-point services. Gatwick Airport offers wide range of services - including flight information, travel offers, shopping, eating, long stay parking, short term parking and valet meet and greet parking at airport.

More information on Gatwick Airport Services can be found at www.gatwickairport.com

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