Gatwick Airport's new owners have ruled out building a second runway for the foreseeable future.

The message this week from the airport's new chairman Sir David Rowlands was that new owners Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) have “not a shred of interest” in a second runway.

In a meeting with the Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign (GACC), Sir David said that a new runway was not Government policy nor the policy of the airport.

And he added that even if the Government started to look more favourably at the prospect of a second runway, Gatwick would have to “think very hard about spending £100 million to £200 million on a planning application with an uncertain decision.”

Welcoming the news, GACC chairman Brendon Sewill said: “This firm statement will kill off some silly speculation, and will remove a lot of uncertainty and anxiety.”

Under a long-standing local planning agreement, there is an understanding that there will be no new runway at Gatwick before 2019.

But last December, Gatwick's ownership passed from BAA to US-based investment fund GIP, and fears were voiced the new owners would start looking at possible runway plans.

But at the meeting with Charlwood-based GACC, Sir David said: “The simple fact is that we at Gatwick have not a shred of interest in a second runway.”

Mr Sewill of Stan Hill, Charlwood, said: “The united stand by local people, by the local MPs and by all the local councils across Surrey, Sussex and Kent has helped to produce this result.”

But he added: “We will remain on guard.

“The Government and BAA have previously ruled out new runways at Stansted and at Heathrow, only to announce them a few years later.”

He said: “We will stand ready, if need be, to launch a massive campaign to defeat any new runway plan, as we have defeated such plans in the past.”

GACC has more than 100 district and parish councils and amenity groups as members.

East Surrey MP Peter Ainsworth said he was “delighted” the airport's new owners had effectively ruled out seeking to build a second runway for a generation.

Mr Ainsworth said: “I am absolutely delighted that the spectre of a second runway at Gatwick - with all that it would entail in terms of housebuilding, noise, road congestion and pollution - has finally been laid to rest.”

He said: “This issue has been hovering around for all of the 18 years during which I have been an MP, and Sir David's words will come as a huge relief to all who care about the local environment.”

Mr Ainsworth added: "I am of course aware that Gatwick is a major employer.

“I want it to be a successful one-runway airport, popular with airlines, passengers and local people.

“The definitive ditching of any plans for a second runway is refreshingly open and straightforward.

“I hope that it paves the way for a more trusting relationship between the community and the airport operator."

Peter von Staerck, chairman of Horley and District Chamber of Commerce, said the Gatwick chairman's words spelled out mixed fortunes.

He said: “For the environment it's good news, but for the economy it's not so good.”

And he added: “People have made comments to me before, saying why buy an airport if you're not going to have a second runway?”