A spokesperson for campaign group Communities Against Gatwick Noise Emissions (Cagne) said: “We welcome the extension by the secretary of state until October as she has obviously recognised the many holes in the Gatwick airport submissions during the planning hearings.
The Cabinet minister said the Planning Inspectorate recommended she approves an alternative development consent order (DCO) application for the West Sussex airport’s plan to bring its emergency runway into routine use.
The source said: “The Transport Secretary has set out a path to approving the expansion of Gatwick today following the Planning Inspectorate’s recommendation to refuse the original application.
Gatwick’s £2.2 billion privately financed project would see it move the emergency runway 12 metres north, enabling it to be used for departures of narrow-bodied planes such as Airbus A320s and Boeing 737s.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has announced she is prepared to support expansion of Gatwick airport if the project is adjusted.
