Proposals to build a new runway at Gatwick and develop 2,700 homes nearby have been hit by fresh delays.

The departure of Stephen Byers from his job as Secretary of State for Transport has led to the latest hitch.

At present, the region is waiting to hear if Gatwick will get one or two new runways over the next 30 years.

Crawley Borough Council has been told by the Government that a decision is needed before it can go-ahead with the housing scheme, set to be built near one of the two proposed runway schemes.

Details of the runway development were expected to be released in the spring and then the summer.

The date has been put back again to allow the new transport secretary, Alistair Darling, to be consulted.

His department is expected to name sites for three new runways in the South East, with possibly up to two at Gatwick.

Councillor Doug Murdoch, borough council member for planning and economic development, has mixed views on the delay.

He said: "Unless we start building houses in Crawley at a reasonable rate, house prices will go through the roof and fewer people will be able to afford them."

But he added: "We are happy the Government is making considered decisions because the South East needs long-term plans for air transport."

The Department of Transport said no date had been fixed for the decision.

A spokesman said: "This is a complex consultation and we have to get things right."

Gatwick campaigner Brendon Sewill a spokesman for Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign, said any new runway at Gatwick would be "an environmental disaster".

He said it would increase Gatwick's capacity from its present 30 million passengers a year to up to 100 million, making it larger than Heathrow.

But Stephen Gauge, of Sussex Enterprise, said: "We would rather the Government took a long time making the right decisions.

"We understand the need to get the new transport secretary up to speed."

"And we are not saying a second runway or bust, we are saying we need long debate on all the implications."