Bosses at London Gatwick Airport have estimated around 630 new jobs will be created for local construction workers, if plans to bring the northern runway into routine use are given the go-ahead.

These jobs would be generated across the county council areas of West Sussex, East Sussex, Surrey and Kent, the unitary authority of Brighton and Hove, and the London Borough of Croydon, according to socio-economic studies commissioned by London Gatwick.

The majority of the local construction workers would be sourced from local authority areas in the airport’s immediate vicinity, including Reigate and Banstead, Crawley and Mid Sussex, with others across the wider region, in areas like Sutton, Mole Valley and Bromley, also benefiting.

Airport chiefs estimate at the peak of developing the Northern Runway, nearly 1400 construction jobs would be created nationally.

These jobs will include professional level management roles as well as engineers, plant operators, ground workers, concrete placing specialists, steel erectors, cladding and glaziers, building management system and fitout specialists. The roles would be split across all aspects of the Northern Runway project, including taxiway alterations, terminal building work, car parks and highway projects.

Cedric Laurier, Chief Technical Officer, London Gatwick said: “The opportunities presented for local employment through Gatwick’s Northern Runway project are incredibly exciting for the region.

“To offer up to 1400 new jobs in construction alone – with a significant proportion of these estimated to be using the local workforce – is great news. These new jobs will not only benefit workers now, but also our future workforce who are still in school or college.”

Chiefs at Gatwick wish to invest in its long-term future and are preparing a planning application to bring the airport’s northern runway into regular use, for departures, alongside its main runway. They say that this plan will improve resilience, reduce delays, and provide a significant boost to the regional economy by supporting trade, tourism and new jobs.