Revised plans for Heathrow expansion revealed

Building a new bypass in Colnbrook and creating parkland four times the size of London's Hyde Park are among the features of revised plans to expand Heathrow Airport.

The raft of new features was announced today by the airport after it consulted with nearby residents about its plans to add a third runway.

Under the new changes Colnbrook and Poyle would see the creation of a new bypass to replace the existing A3044, which would re-route traffic around the villages in a bid to ease congestion.

An investment of £16 billion of private money would also be used to address flooding concerns, with the airport pledging to support the Environment Agency in developing better flood alleviation schemes and providing investment for flood defence schemes.

The option to add a third runway at Heathrow has already been submitted to the Airports Commission with a decision expected to be announced next year.

It could either see a new 3,500m runway added at the north-west of the airport or extend the existing northern runway to at least 6,000m.

Existing plans to surround the airport with a 'green ring' of landscaped recreational parkland would also be extended to the south of the airport, providing a 15-mile corridor of publicly accessible green space for residents.

Chief Executive of Heathrow, John Holland-Kaye, said: "As well as bringing 50,000 new jobs for local people and 10,000 apprenticeships, we can also improve the environmental landscape around the airport and mitigate some of today's problems including local road congestion and the impacts of flooding. We are listening and continue to improve our plans based on the feedback we receive."

Contact communityrelations@heathrow.com to offer your feedback on the plans.