A legal bid to halt the expansion of Gatwick Airport has been dismissed by the Court of Appeal. Lord Justice Holgate and Lord Justice Dove ruled that the appeal grounds presented by Peter Barclay and the campaign group Communities Against Gatwick Noise Emissions (Cagne) were unarguable and lacked a real prospect of success.
The legal challenge originally targeted the Department for Transport's approval of the £2.2bn project, which involves shifting the airport's emergency runway 12 meters north. Opponents argued that the government failed to adequately evaluate the climate impact of the expansion, which is expected to accommodate an additional 100,000 flights annually. However, the judges upheld a previous decision by Mr. Justice Mould, describing his prior assessment as thorough and detailed.
Following the ruling, Cagne expressed disappointment, stating that the project would negatively impact both the environment and local residents. Conversely, London Gatwick chief executive Pierre-Hugues Schmit welcomed the conclusion of the eight-year planning and legal process. He noted that the airport can now transition into the design and delivery phase of the Northern Runway project, which the company anticipates will generate 14,000 jobs and contribute £1bn to the economy annually.
Source: BBC News
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