High Court hands down judgment in Gatwick second runway challenge
Climate Litigation, Planning & Environment, Judicial Review & Public Law
The High Court (Mould J) today handed down a 195-page judgment following a four-day rolled-up hearing in January relating to the 2025 development consent order (DCO) for Gatwick Airport’s northern runway project.
The challenge was brought by two Claimants: Peter Barclay and Communities Against Gatwick Noise Emissions (CAGNE).
Proposed project
The proposed project would replace Gatwick’s existing northern standby runway with a second full operational runway, increasing passenger capacity by approximately 13 million passengers per annum to reach 80 million passengers per annum by 2047.
The scheme proposed by Gatwick Airport during the DCO examination was recommended for refusal by the Examining Authority. However, the Examining Authority recommended that the Secretary of State approve a revised scheme with tighter environmental controls. It is the first time that such an approach has been adopted.
The challenge to the ultimate grant of the DCO by the Secretary of State was advanced on a number of grounds, including in relation to climate change, noise, environmental impact assessment, and wastewater.
However, both Mr Barclay’s and CAGNE’s claims were dismissed by Mould J. The full judgment can be found here: (1) Peter Barclay (2) CAGNE v (1) Secretary of State for Transport (2) Gatwick Airport Limited [2026] EWHC 1556 (Admin).
Under the new rules for nationally significant infrastructure challenges, the Claimants have seven days to make any application for permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal.
Estelle Dehon OBE KC, Ruchi Parekh, and Lois Lane acted for CAGNE together with Odette Chalaby of Landmark Chambers (instructed by Leigh Day).
