The leader of Hounslow Council has warned that there are just 14 weeks to save the borough from Heathrow expansion.

With the government’s long awaited consultation into plans to expand Heathrow airport expected to be announced this week, Cllr Peter Thompson said: “The proposals to expand Heathrow are the biggest threat that Hounslow has ever faced.

“Every councillor in the borough supports the council’s campaign to oppose airport expansion on behalf of local residents.

“We now have 14 weeks of public consultation to make our case and try to save the borough from further expansion at Heathrow.”

A meeting of political leaders from the 2M group of 12 local authorities opposed to Heathrow expansion will be held on Hounslow on Wednesday 21 November.

The council is also planning to hold a major public meeting to give residents the opportunity to voice their opinions on plans to build a third runway and replace runway alternation with mixed mode.

Together these plans could see the capacity of Heathrow doubling in a decade and lead to a plane flying over the borough every 30 seconds at peak times.

Cllr Barbara Reid, the council’s lead member for aviation said: “We all want Heathrow to be an economic success but the way to achieve that is to make Heathrow better not bigger.

“The government’s long-awaited consultation on its plans to double the capacity of Heathrow has finally arrived. The cold war is over and now the battle for Hounslow’s future can begin.

“The time has come for everyone who opposes these plans to stand shoulder to shoulder and speak with one voice and say ‘no’ to expansion at Heathrow.”

Responding to recent comments by the campaign director of the pro-expansion group Future Heathrow, Lord Clive Soley, Cllr Reid said: “Lord Soley claims that he wants Heathrow to be an economic and environmental success.

“We say that the best way to achieve that is to make Heathrow better not bigger.

“But Lord Soley claims that the only way for Heathrow to be an economic and environmental success is to unleash the biggest programme of airport expansion the UK has ever seen.

“Lord Soley’s argument just doesn’t add up. Either he is being economical with the economical truth, or economical with the environmental truth.”

On Lord Soley’s claims that concerns about noise have been “deliberately exaggerated”, Cllr Reid said: “Everyone knows that expansion will mean more planes and more noise. Even the government’s own research has shown that the number of people affected by noise has been massively underestimated.

“Expansion will lead to a plane flying over the borough every 30 seconds at peak times, it is no exaggeration to say that this will make life in Hounslow a lot noisier.”

The council is encouraging residents to make their views known during the Government’s 14 week consultation. Details of how to respond will be published on the council’s website shortly.