The Greens have criticised Labour after a U-turn on the proposed second runway at Gatwick – even though the two parties are now effectively flying in tandem.
The two biggest groups on Brighton and Hove City Council object to the airport’s runway plan prompting critical remarks from Green councillor Raphael Hill.
Councillor Hill said: “I appreciate you (Labour) have spoken in objection (and) I understand we don’t get the final say.
“(But) there’s a history of the Labour group on this issue having different views, particularly given the national context, as it’s not particularly clear what Keir Starmer’s view is on Gatwick.”
A council committee voted to ask a senior official, Donna Chisholm, to work on the council’s response to the consultation about the second runway proposal.
The official will work with Labour councillor Alan Robins, who chairs the council’s Culture, Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Economic Development Committee.
He told the committee yesterday (Thursday 14 September): “We’ve been absolutely transparent in what we’ve said. We haven’t said one thing and done another.”
A week earlier, on Thursday 7 September, the Labour council leader Bella Sankey said that the council would object to the application.
She said: “As a council, we have declared a climate emergency and aim to become a carbon-neutral city by 2030.
“We’re also signed up to the Charter for Clean Air and committed to improving air quality. Supporting Gatwick’s proposal to bring its second runway without key climate change tests being met would contradict these aims.
“We are clear that any airport expansion must pass our tests on air quality, noise pollution and delivering economic benefits while enabling us to meet our obligations on climate change.
“The proposal for Gatwick, at present, does not meet those tests.”
Labour councillor Jilly Stevens said that anyone could respond to the consultation, adding: “We’ve made it clear that we are not supporting this. There is not going to be any change between now and when we submit our views.”
Gatwick has submitted a planning application to use its existing northern standby runway to almost double passenger capacity from 46 million to 80 million and increase freight capacity to 350,000 tonnes.
The plans include repositioning the runway’s centreline, reconfiguring the taxiways, extending the north and south terminals and building a new pier, car parks and four new hotels. Aircraft movements would be limited to 386,000 a year.
Council planning manager Jane Moseley told councillors that the scale of the project meant that it was considered “nationally significant”.
As such, the planning application is due to be handled by the Planning Inspectorate, with the final decision made by the Conservative government’s Transport Secretary Mark Harper.
The committee, which met at Hove Town Hall yesterday, was told that the council’s comments would be made public before they were submitted.
What the heck does this have to do with Brighton & Hove Council? Surely they have enough on their plate trying to sort out city out without waisting their time and effort on this.
Yes – perhaps Bella Sankey and her council should concentrate on local issues. Perhaps leave government, airlines and manufacturers to get on with achieving #NetZero for transportation?
And just a reminder for recently arrived Bella – in 2019 the council PROMISED to make the city carbon neutral by 2030 though they seem to be back-pedalling and now only the council emissions with form 2% of the total are in scope.
The council has been asked by the Planning Inspectortate to provide comments on the application.
They would be derelict in their duty if they didn’t respond to the consultation.
At the same meeting a similar consultion on the expansion of Rampion was discussed.
https://democracy.brighton-hove.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=1088&MId=11309
Peter has never been one to let facts get in the way of disingenuous public outcry, if anything I’ve seen of his comments before.
This is a fantastic opportunity for the region which will literally provide thousands of new jobs and economic opportunities.
Utterly useless B&H Council should learn how to regularly successfully empty dustbins and how to get rid of giant pavement weeds in their own dirty rundown City, before interfering in other areas economic business.
Responding to a consultation isn’t interfering in an other areas business.
The Planning Inspectorate asked the council for its views.
We need to be reducing air traffic not increasing it.
If we can make flying carbon neutral by use of e-fuels, hydrogen, electric and (if necessary) offsetting what is wrong with “air traffic”?
Normalising composting of food waste is another big contributor I recently learnt. Hopefully we can get more compost bins out and about Brighton.
The Greens whingeing? Perhaps if they’d actually listened to residents they wouldn’t have got such a licking in the election.
And we need to cancel VG3 – a colossal waste of taxpayer money which will have such a disastrous effect on the city centre – that will really upset the Green fruitcakes
Valley Gardens is significantly improved from the first 2 phases. It’s now a really nice place to walk and cycle. And the road is weirdly less congested to drive despite being smaller, presumably because there are now less side roads cutting across. Why on earth would you want this to be left half completed? Attempting to navigate the bit in scope for phase 3 as it currently stands is hard work on foot or on a bike and there’s lots of wasted space.
Quite. Unfortunately the commentators on here are so obsessed with virtue signalling they can’t see the wood through the trees. All change = bad. All problems = greens. It’s quite tiresome.
They really need to get on with VG3. How hard is it to just draw a roundabout over the current plan and keep everything else the same. Best of both worlds. While they are at it, why not make one of the old bus shelters a urinal, would put a stop to everyone after 11pm urinating on the pavilion garden wall
Gatwick airport is a major employment base for Sussex. Without it Brighton wouldn’t be a city. Not only does it add billions to the local economy, it props up the transport links to the city. Our council opposing these plans seems a bit like that they know it will go through but want to hang on to certain voters who normally vote green. Stop playing pandering politics I say and get on with the road repairs.