Government gives green light to £2.2bn Gatwick expansion

The transport secretary has given permission for Gatwick Airport to make changes to support dual runway operations.

An application for a second runway at the airport in West Sussex was submitted to the Planning Inspectorate by Gatwick Airport Limited on 6 July 2023 and accepted for examination on 3 August 2023.

Today it was announced that the project has been green-lit, with Heidi Alexander issuing a letter to the airport confirming the approval yesterday.

The £2.2bn project will see terminals extended and taxiways amended, alongside a range of other changes to enable an existing northern runway to be used routinely.

This will allow the airport to accommodate up to 80 million passengers a year.

Alexander’s decision came the better part of a year after the Planning Inspectorate sent its recommendations to the secretary of state on 27 November 2024.

The decision has been welcomed in the construction sector, with the Civil Engineering Contractors Association describing it as a vote of confidence in the UK infrastructure sector. 

“CECA has long campaigned on the basis that the UK requires increased airport capacity. This decision is a welcome vote of confidence in the civils industry to deliver on the Government’s vision for a high-growth economy,” said CECA director of policy and public affairs Ben Goodwin.

“Gatwick’s second runway, which will be almost entirely privately financed and will depend on efficient procurement and delivery, will boost growth, create jobs, and increase opportunities for businesses and communities for years to come.”

He said the project needed “robust mitigation” to limit noise impacts and ensure it is “aligned with environmental safeguards and carbon reduction measures”.