Dear Tom,
The 11 years during which I have had the privilege of chairing GATCOM has been a period of significant change and development for London's second largest airport. The airport's ownership has changed, with its acquisition by Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) in 2009. For the first time, Gatwick found itself in separate ownership from Heathrow, to whom it had inevitably played second fiddle for so many years. This fact, resulting from the break-up of the previous BAA monopoly, together with the commitment of the new owners to invest heavily in their new asset and to inject fresh management, combined to ensure that Gatwick began to assert itself much more effectively in the national and international aviation market. An ambitious capital investment programme, in the construction of which GATCOM's Passenger Advisory Group (PAG) played a key role, resulted in a massive improvement of the airport's infrastructure and a new "can-do" management approach inspired the whole Gatwick community to work together more effectively to deliver a world class product.
The network of routes grew, as did passenger numbers (up 30 per cent between 2007 and 2018 to more than 45 million passengers per annum) and, to a lesser extent, air transport movements (up 10 per cent), reflecting the increasing size and occupancy ratios of aircraft using the airport. As a result, by 2018, Gatwick was rapidly reaching maximum capacity and the new management aspired to develop a second runway.
The 1979 planning agreement between West Sussex County Council and the old British Airports Authority (BAA), inherited by the present owners, precludes the construction of a second runway at Gatwick for 40 years, i.e. until August 2019. There are, of course, already two runways at the airport: the main runway and the adjacent standby (also known as the northern or emergency) runway, which may only be used when, for any reason, the main runway is not available. Because of their proximity, the two existing runways cannot be used simultaneously.
Government policy on the growth of the UK's airports has vacillated over the years, but in September 2012 the Government of the day set up the Airports Commission, chaired by Sir Howard Davies, to consider how the UK "can maintain its status as an international hub for aviation and immediate actions to improve the use of existing runway capacity in the next five years." Battle was then joined, with three shortlisted proposals for additional runways in the London area (two at Heathrow, one at Gatwick) being promoted. Gatwick Airport Limited (GAL) was actively involved in this process, producing detailed plans for a second runway to the south of the present airport, on land safeguarded for this purpose in the existing 2003 aviation White Paper. The rival campaigns were energetically pursued, in private and in public, their tone becoming progressively more competitive.
Although Gatwick was seen as a credible option, in the end the Airports Commission recommended the Heathrow North-West Runway option to the Government for approval. One of the first actions of the new Government formed after the 2016 referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union (EU) was to confirm that option as government policy, to the disappointment of GAL, but to the relief of those who objected to the proposed second runway at Gatwick. It was agreed that the provision of a third runway at Heathrow would be subject to the provisions of the Planning Act 2008 relating to nationally significant infrastructure projects, which reserves the decision to grant or refuse development consent to the Secretary of State for Transport, subject to a positive vote in Parliament.
Over the last two years, this process has been working its way through the system. In July 2017, the Government issued a next steps document for a new Aviation Strategy, following a call for evidence the previous year, reiterating their support for sustainable growth in aviation. Then, in June 2018, the Secretary of State for Transport laid before Parliament the Airports National Policy Statement (NPS), which, following Parliamentary scrutiny, including a vote in the House of Commons, was designated by the Secretary of State for Transport in June 2018 and is now government policy. The Secretary of State explained that the NPS "provides the primary basis for decision making on development consent applications for a north-west runway at Heathrow Airport, clarifying what is required to enable the development of much needed additional airport capacity that is essential for trade and economic growth, whilst setting clear requirements to mitigate the impacts on local communities and the environment."
Alongside the NPS, Government issued a new policy statement Beyond the Horizon, The Future of UK Aviation - Making Best Use of Existing Runways, in which it set out its support for "airports beyond Heathrow making best use of their existing runways."
While there is still a long way to go before the construction of a third runway at Heathrow actually takes place, GAL confirmed that they stood ready to proceed with their proposal for a second runway at Gatwick, but only if and when such a development would be consistent with government policy. In the meantime, the attention of GAL turned to the preparation of a new master plan to set out a vision for the future development of the airport.
The draft masterplan was launched on the day of the GATCOM meeting in October 2018 and has two main sections, covering the next five years (based on the recently published Capital Investment Plan 2018 and the Airport Surface Access Strategy 2018); and three "growth scenarios" looking five to 15 years ahead: using the current runway; development within the airport footprint to make best use of the existing runways; and the continued safeguarding of land for a future additional runway.
The draft master plan will now be the subject of a 12-week GATWICK AIRPORT DRAFT MASTER PLAN 2018 public consultation during the autumn of 2018 and it is likely that attention will be concentrated on the second of the three growth scenarios, involving the use of the standby runway.
In the meantime, the Government is working on a new Aviation Strategy for the UK, which will pursue six objectives: helping the aviation industry work for its customers; ensuing a safe and secure way to travel; building a global and connected Britain; encouraging competitive markets; supporting growth while tackling environmental impacts; and developing innovation, technology and skills. It is the fifth of these objectives which presents particular difficulties. It is all very well for the Secretary of State for Transport to say that, "We want a strategy that will support growth across the country while tackling aviation's environmental effects", but what does this actually mean in practice? It is a worthy aspiration to seek to support the expansion of aviation and the presence of more and more aeroplanes in the skies above our cities and countryside, while at the same time reducing the noise and pollution they cause to local communities, but how is the industry supposed to achieve this desirable outcome?
In our responses to the evolving Aviation Strategy, we have emphasised the importance of it providing clear guidance on this issue, so that the industry and affected local communities know where they stand and what it is realistic for them to expect. The new Aviation Strategy is due to be published later this autumn and we look forward to seeing what it has to say.
Throughout the time I have chaired GATCOM, we have received a great deal of evidence about both the economic and social benefits of having a major international airport in our midst and also of the environmental impacts on local communities, including noise, pollution and increasing urbanisation. Our work, and public policy as a whole, has to steer a difficult course between these two issues. So we are told, for example, that Gatwick provides 24,000 jobs on the airport and 85,000 across the UK; it generates £5.3 billion for the UK economy; it is responsible for 10 per cent of GDP from Croydon to Brighton; and that Gatwick's 5.5 million overseas visitors and 1.6 million domestic visitors in 2017 spent £3.9 billion and £1.6 billion in the country, contributing a total of £5.3 billion in GDP nationally.
On the other side of the coin, there are real concerns felt in communities around the airport about aircraft noise, pollution and the rate at which the countryside is being built over. Much of the work of GATCOM, and the Noise Management Board (NMB) established by GAL in 2016, is concerned with trying to understand the causes of concern to local communities and, where possible, working with them to find solutions. The NMB has, in my view, provided a potentially useful forum in which representatives, both elected and appointed, can discuss technical issues in some detail with representatives of GAL, the Civil Aviation Authority and air traffic control providers, but, so far, the NMB has failed to win the confidence of some of the community groups. This is disappointing and I hope that the current review of the way in which the NMB is constituted and operates will suggest a way forward. However, it is difficult to see how effective progress can be made without a clear and realistic national policy on how competing interests are to be reconciled.
During my time as chairman, we have seen the rise of low-cost airlines, at the expense of the traditional national carriers. easyJet is now the largest carrier at Gatwick and, while British Airways remains the second largest, Norwegian is not far behind. Low cost carriers are moving progressively into long haul routes and the range of destinations now served from Gatwick is impressive. Trading conditions are such that some airlines are no longer able to compete and we were sad to see Monarch Airlines, which had been long established at Gatwick, cease trading in 2017. These developments have led to changes in occupancy of the two terminals, with easyJet and Virgin moving to North Terminal and BA to South, a complex operation successfully planned and managed by the airport community in early 2018. GAL is working hard, and with some success, to establish new routes into the emerging world economies, including China.
Gatwick is well placed for public transport connections and GAL has set itself ambitious targets to achieve 48 per cent public transport mode share for airport passengers by 2022 and 42 per cent of staff journeys to work by sustainable modes (pubic transport, active travel modes and staff travel provided by employers), and by 45 per cent including other sustainable travel initiatives (car share and zero emission vehicles) by 2022. With GAL, we monitor performance against these targets and are pleased that real progress is being made. For years, GATCOM has been working with GAL, the Department for Transport, Network Rail and the Coast2Capital Local Economic Partnership (LEP) to secure the redevelopment of Gatwick railway station to provide a transport interchange fit for the 21st Century. While a more ambitious scheme had to be abandoned, we are very pleased that an affordable scheme to substantially improve the present station has been agreed and is now awaiting planning permission. I hope to be invited to attend the opening in due course!
Less encouraging has been continuing concern about the operation of the Gatwick Express, which is no longer a dedicated airport service, and the long-running industrial dispute which has disrupted rail services on the London to Brighton line for the last two years or more. Improvements elsewhere on the rail network as part of the Thameslink improvement programme have led to direct connections from Gatwick to Cambridge and Peterborough, and indirect connections to a much wider range of destinations. The rail operator, GTR, after much consultation introduced one of the biggest timetable changes in rail history earlier this year in May which created significant disruption which quickly saw an interim timetable implemented in July to deliver a more consistent and more reliable service for passengers.
The interim timetable is still in place and I am pleased to say that performance is now stabilising and air passengers and staff are now benefitting from more reliable journeys to and from the airport. GTR is continuing to build on the improvement to performance and is now gradually adding services to the timetable restoring all those in the busiest peak to and from London.
At the same time, road access is being improved by conversion of the hard shoulder on the M23 into a driving lane as part of a project to create a SMART motorway on the M23 between junctions 8 and 10, although the two-year programme of works will create an element of disruption between now and 2020. As aviation grows, traffic in the skies is becoming as congested as traffic on the roads. Gatwick Airport is already dealing with nearly one aircraft every minute at peak periods and operates the world's most efficient single runway. To squeeze more capacity out of the system, air traffic controllers internationally are turning to satellite navigation systems, which are replacing the old, land-based beacons and other navigational aids. The new systems are capable of directing aircraft more accurately on very specific flight paths, which can increase capacity but which, while reducing the total numbers of people impacted by noise, can also have detrimental effects on homes and businesses directly under the new routes.
Over the last few years, some experiments have taken place around Gatwick to test the new procedures, and these have sometimes met with fierce opposition from affected local communities, particularly those who had not previously experienced overflight, the formation of local protest groups and, in some cases, litigation. A major exercise is now under way to modernise airspace across the UK, led by the CAA, which will see Gatwick working with NATS and 15 other airports over an area as far west as Cardiff and as far north as East Midlands airport. This programme, which is expected to be delivered by 2024, will prove contentious and difficult to handle.
Under the chairmanship of Peter Hall, GATCOM's PAG has continued to make its invaluable contribution to improving the experience of passengers travelling through the airport. PAG has contributed positively to the annual process through which GAL agrees its Capital Investment (CIP) plan with its customers, the airlines, making many helpful suggestions and comments, most of which have been taken on board.
Peter brigades his team of passenger volunteers into groups that take an interest in particular aspects of the work of the airport, such as special assistance, retail operations, surface access, rail services, car parking, security, Border Force and immigration, signage, airport information and baggage handling. Specific areas of interest, such as baggage handling, waste handling, plastic recycling and the provision of water fountains have been looked at in some detail. Highlights for me during the year included visits to Gatwick Police Station and Border Force (and their dogs!) to discuss their operation at the airport, including methods used to detect smuggling and the prevention of trafficking; and a visit to the easyJet hangar to observe and learn about the maintenance process of an aircraft. PAG do a great job, and I wish Peter, his newly appointed vice-chair, Samantha Williams, the other members of the Group and the supporting cast of GAL officers all the best in their future work.
My work as Chairman of GATCOM would have been impossible without the support of all members of the Committee and PAG, for which I am most grateful. I would like in particular to thank the three Vice-Chairmen who have supported me over the years: Hilary Sewill, Neil Maltby and Charles Yarwood. Peter Hall has been a tower of strength, as has Alan Jones, GATCOM's lead member on noise. What has kept me sane, and the Committee informed, measured and effective is the invaluable work of the highly professional Secretariat provided by West Sussex County Council and paid for by GAL. I would like to thank Louise Goldsmith, Leader of the County Council, for her support, successive Honorary Secretaries Michael Holdsworth, from whom I learnt my trade, Mike Kendall and Tony Kershaw, and Deputy Secretary Barry Smith. My greatest debt of gratitude, however, is to Paula Street, the Assistant Secretary to GATCOM and also to the UK Airport Consultative Committees network nationally (UKACCs), for her unfailing advice, energy and commitment, without which I would have thrown in the towel many years ago.
Finally, and most importantly, my thanks to Stewart Wingate and his team at GAL. Stewart and I have worked together ever since GIP bought the airport in 2009 and he became CEO. Stewart understands the role of GATCOM and has great respect for our work and our advice. For this and for his friendship over so many years, I record my heartfelt thanks. Under Stewart's leadership, GAL has been committed to working with GATCOM to ensure that, so far as is possible, the right balance is struck between the undoubted benefits which the airport brings to the local area and the UK as a whole, and the need to manage any potentially negative impacts of the airport's growth and operations on local communities and the environment. For this, I thank Stewart and all his team, past and present.
The Chairman of GATCOM's task is not easy, but it is made possible by the willingness of colleagues on all sides of the argument to discuss matters together in an attempt to identify a mutually acceptable solution. Tom, you may be familiar with the polder model, which is a process of decision-making by consensus, something that the Dutch are widely-recognized for around the world. The polder model has its origins in the unique polder geography of the Netherlands (land reclaimed from the sea) which requires constant pumping and maintenance of the surrounding dykes. Ever since the Middle Ages, when the dykes were first constructed, different communities living on a single polder had to get along, because without unanimous agreement and shared responsibility for the maintenance of the dykes and pumping stations, the polders would flood and everyone would suffer. The existence of the polders is credited with creating a Dutch culture where people had to learn to set aside differences for a greater purpose. It worked, and this model is widely acknowledged as being a significant factor in Holland's economic recovery of the late 1990s.The term is now used much more widely, in situations beyond just economics. The easiest way to describe it is, "Co-operation despite differences", something which GATCOM seeks to achieve.
There are many challenges ahead, Tom: the Government's Aviation strategy, the airport draft master plan, the continuing pressure for the growth of the airport, its possible sale, the reorganisation of London airspace, ensuring a good experience for the traveller to and from the airport by rail, problems of environmental pollution and urbanisation, management of expectations regarding the impact of aircraft noise on local communities, the very future of airport consultative committees. And all this at a time when the public discourse in the UK and elsewhere, powered by social media, is increasingly divisive, disrespectful and destructive. As you navigate into what undoubtedly will be choppy waters ahead, you may find it helpful to take a leaf out of the book of a nation with as proud a maritime history as our own and draw strength from the Dutch polder model of decision-making.
Best wishes, and good luck! Dr John Godfrey DL Chairman of GATCOM 2007-1
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