Aha, but Gatwick is not as restricted by noise constraints and agreements with the local population...who are largely employed by the airport...

The third runway (actually there were originally 6) crossed the other two, and was useless unless the winds were very strong from the South. More interesting would have been the two landing lakes planned for flying boats.

More criminal was the failure to build the planned area to the North in the area where the old airfield was located (famous for being where Chamberlain returned with the useless scrap of paper signed by Hitler from Munich), an area in which the "new" third runway will be located, more than 60 years after the plans were put forward.