Amid reports that BAA is looking to fast track the building of a new short third runway at Heathrow Airport, local residents are responding with anger.

It is reported that there are suggestions of a public consultation, possibly to be held in October this year, on how Heathrow could be expanded. Initially, this consultation was thought to be primarily focussing on the proposal to stop 'runway alternation'. This is a practice, otherwise known as 'mixed mode', by which West London residents are given half a day's respite from the sound of overhead aircraft by changing the landing runways at Heathrow Airport each day at 3 p.m.

Due to worries that pollution levels near Heathrow would be in excess of the European Union's (EU) permitted limits, the construction of a third runway was, at the time, put on hold following the publication, in 2003, of the Aviation White Paper. Instead, the UK Government supported the building of a second runway at Stanstead Airport before 2012, with the new Heathrow runway to follow later, if EU emissions levels could be met.

More recently, reports now suggest that Heathrow, with a new third runway added to it, could align itself with the EU targets, and this could be achieved without having to impose a congestion charge around the airport to reduce car exhaust emissions.

Mr John Stewart, who is chairman of the campaign group HACAN Clearskies, flags up the fact that an extra runway at Heathrow Airport might see flight numbers increasing from last year's figure of 473,000 to a much higher 720,000 flights a year in the future. Mr Stewart also pointed out that a third runway at Heathrow would necessitate the demolition of more than 700 homes and that over 150,000 people in London and England's Home Counties would be disturbed by intrusive levels of aircraft noise. "If BAA decides to proceed with its proposals to build a third runway, there will be the mother of all environmental battles. I no doubt residents will take to the streets," Mr Stewart said.

Mr Stewart went on to say that there is far-reaching opposition to expanding Heathrow further. There is opposition from Mr Ken Livingston, the Mayor of London, as well as almost all the Members of Parliament in the area, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, and a local authority group called 2M, which represents 2 million people under Heathrow's flightpath.

Airport International's Home Correspondent