Agenda and minutes

In accordance with the Council's Code of Conduct, councillors are reminded that it is a requirement to declare interests where appropriate.

The following disclosures of interests were made:

The Planning Code of Conduct requires any councillors who have been lobbied, received correspondence, or been approached by an interested party regarding any planning matter to declare this at the meeting at which the matter is being considered. Councillors should declare if they have been lobbied at this point in the meeting.

The following lobbying declarations were made by councillors:

Councillors Ali, Bounds, Charatan, Jaggard, K Khan, and Pritchard had been lobbied but had expressed no view on item 5 (minute 4) – Gatwick Airport Northern Runway Development Consent Order – Crawley Borough Council Relevant Representation.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the Planning Committee held on 29 August 2023.

The minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee held on 29 August 2023 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

To consider report PES/441of the Head of Economy and Planning.

The Committee considered report PES/441 of the Head of Economy and Planning which set out Crawley Borough Council’s response, in the form of a Relevant Representation, to the Development Consent Order (DCO) application for Gatwick Airport’s northern runway expansion proposals.

Councillors Ali, Bounds, Charatan, Jaggard, K Khan, S Mullins, Mwagale, Nawaz, and Pritchard declared they had visited the site.

The Chair invited the Planning Consultant to give a presentation on the DCO process.  The timeline of the DCO and a summary of the changes proposed by Gatwick Airport Limited (GAL) in its application were outlined.  It was explained that, if agreed, the DCO document itself along with the accompanying plans and schedules would provide the legal framework for the development works associated with bringing the northern runway into routine use.  It was heard that the Council’s Constitution required the Planning Committee to agree its Relevant Representation for submission to the examining authority, via the Planning Inspectorate.  It was estimated that a final decision on the matter was likely to be made by the Secretary of State in early 2025.

The Chair then invited the Group Manager (Development Management) to summarise the Council’s Relevant Representation.  It was explained that the Council was invited to respond as a lead host authority on the project as the area covered by the airport fell mainly within the borough’s boundary.  In forming its response, the Council had identified a wide range of issues and shortcomings within the DCO, and therefore had significant concerns.  The topics set out in the report were then introduced one-by-one.  The Committee made comments and asked questions of the officers in response to each topic, as set out below.

The drafting of the dDCO

Committee members sought clarification about several elements of the process of submitting the Relevant Representation.  It was noted that multiple local authorities had been consulted at this stage and in forming their responses had used the same planning consultants.  Each local authority had individual concerns which related to its specific area, but there were shared concerns about the impact on matters such as the local economy, highways, and noise levels. The Committee asked whether the feedback submitted by Crawley Borough Council, as a host lead authority, would be given extra weight by the Planning Inspectorate.  Officers confirmed that the Council would be submitting an extensive Local Impact Report to set out the effects of the proposals on the local area, to which consideration would be given. 

Following a further query from a Committee member, officers confirmed that the Council had been given 56 days to provide its Relevant Representation to the DCO application.  The Committee heard that national aviation policy supported the expansion of airports in general, and that historically most DCO applications were approved by the Planning Inspectorate.  It was therefore important that the Council set out its concerns in full to ensure that consideration was given to all relevant matters.

Planning Statement / Design and Access Statement (DAS)

Committee members noted that the DCO application  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.