Campaigners denied appeal over Gatwick expansion

An important development from the financial markets: Campaigners denied appeal over Gatwick expansionImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, The £2. 2bn expansion will see the West Sussex airport move its emergency runway 12m (39ft) northPublished4 August 2026Campaigners have lost a bid to take their legal fight against the government over plans for a two-runway operation at Gatwick Airport to the Court of Appeal. Peter Barclay and campaign group Communities Against Gatwick Noise Emissions (Cagne) previously took legal action against the Department for Transport over the decision to approve the plans, including over claims that the government did not properly assess the climate impact of the scheme.

Cagne and Barclay told a hearing in January the scheme was unlawful, claiming climate impact was not properly assessed. 2bn expansion will see the West Sussex airport move its emergency runway 12m (39ft) north to allow 100,000 more flights a year. Image source, GATWICK AIRPORTImage caption, The plans were approved by Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander in SeptemberMr Justice Mould dismissed the challenges to the airport's expansion in June, finding that it was "neither illogical nor contradictory" for Alexander not to refuse the proposed development "on the basis that it would have a material impact on the ability of Government to meet its carbon reduction targets".

Economic Details

He also rejected an argument about the need for the expansion at Gatwick, given the proximity to Heathrow. Last month, Barclay and Cagne asked the Court of Appeal to allow them to challenge the ruling, claiming that the judge was wrong. But in a ruling on Tuesday, Lord Justice Holgate and Lord Justice Dove dismissed the appeal bids.

'Immensely proud'In a 29-page ruling, they said: "We conclude that each of the grounds of appeal raised by each appellant is unarguable. "Neither appeal has a real prospect of success. We also consider that there are no other compelling reasons for either appeal to be heard.

"The two senior judges also said that the previous ruling was "detailed and thorough". Gatwick is the UK's second busiest airport and one of the busiest single-runway airports in the world. The expansion will allow the site to be used for the departures of narrow-bodied planes such as Airbus A320s and Boeing 737s.

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Following the decision, Barclay said: "We are very disappointed with the Court's decision. We took this challenge as far as we could because we believed that the decision to allow Gatwick to expand was fundamentally flawed. "It was not supported by government policy, would only serve to line the pockets of the airport and airlines, and would do so at the expense of local residents and the climate.

"Cagne said: "Residents should be immensely proud of what they have achieved in holding Gatwick Airport's shareholders to account. "This proposed new runway will come at a significant cost to both the taxpayer and the planet.

Economists are analysing what the news means for the markets.