More than 200 jobs in Sussex will be created for construction workers if plans to expand Gatwick Airport are approved.

Plans could see the airport’s northern runway brought into regular use, which would improve resilience, reduce delays and provide a significant boost to the regional economy.

Around 1,400 new jobs are expected to be made for construction workers across the country, with at least 200 for Sussex workers, including Crawley, Horsham and the Mid Sussex area.

The 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 toles would be split across all aspects of the northern runway project, including taxiway alterations, terminal building work, car parks and highway projects.

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Cedric Laurier, chief technical officer for Gatwick Airport, said: “The opportunities presented for local employment through Gatwick’s northern runway project are incredibly exciting for the region.

“To offer up to 1,400 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.”

However, campaign group CAGNE (Communities Against Gatwick Noise Emissions), which opposes the airport’s expansion, claimed Gatwick was “offering half-truths when it comes to expansion plans”.

Salley Pavey, chairwoman of the group, said: “Gatwick has always struggled to find workers and, with automation of the airport, the industry jobs will not necessarily come with expansion.

“We are all facing a climate emergency and, as such, no airport should be seeking expansion at this time - especially as a second runway would add more than one million tonnes of extra carbon a year on top of the main runway.

“A second runway by any disguise via the back door offers little benefits for surrounding communities or the environment.”

The northern runway project would also see improvements to nearby roads, as well as the construction of new hotels and offices.