New Civil Engineer
Rob Hakimian
28 April 2025
Gatwick Airport has submitted a detailed letter to the secretary of state for transport addressing concerns regarding transport and noise mitigation in relation to its proposed Northern Runway development.
The London airport is seeking to rebuild its Northern Runway, which is currently used as a standby and for maintenance, to be used by smaller departing aircraft. This would include moving the centre line of the runway further north by 12m, bringing it within global safety standards to operate dual runway departures. This £2.2bn expansion, which features an array of supporting infrastructure upgrades, would enable it to build towards its target of 80M annual passengers.
In February, transport secretary Heidi Alexander said she was “minded to approve” the development consent order (DCO) application pending further information on some points. Now that the response has been submitted, she will provide a final decision by 27 October.
