HEATHROW'S latest plans for a third runway to the north-west of the airport came 'out of the blue' today, according to council bosses.
The proposal for a new landing strip on an old sewage works in Harmondsworth was one of three outlined by the airport's owners today in its submission to the Airports Commission.
The other two options it has put forward are for a third runway to the south-west on Stanwell Moor and a a slightly shorter one to the north, similar to what was initially approved in 2009.
Heathrow's chief executive Colin Matthews said the two westerly runways, both of which also allow for a fourth landing strip in the future, were its preferred options.
He claimed both would enable it to boost the number of flights by more than half, while reducing the number of people living within the airport's noise footprint by between 15 and 20 per cent.
Hounslow Council's deputy leader Colin Ellar described the three options as 'something old, something new and something out of the blue'.
He said the borough would be 'hit hard' by the south-west option, while the northern runway at Sipson would have a 'profoundly negative' impact on residents.
However, he held fire on the north-west proposal, describing it as a 'surprising development' and saying the council would need to 'examine its potential impact further'.
He welcomed plans to use only one of the runways for early morning arrivals, with that runway switching each week to give residents relief for five out of every six weeks.
Mr Ellar also said Heathrow was 'making the right noises' when it came to insulation, which it claims should be free for those worst affected, but more detail was needed about the budget and who would pay for it.
The north and north-west proposals would both mean planes flying directly over parts of Heston, Brentford and Chiswick, while the south-west proposal would mean more noise for those in Bedfont, Feltham, Hanworth and Whitton.
However, airport chiefs claim quieter planes and steeper descents, among other measures, would allow it to reduce the number of people falling within Heathrow's noise footprint.
Both the westerly proposals would involve tunelling the M25, while the south-west option would see two reservoirs paved over. The schemes would cost £14-18 billion each and would be ready by 2029 at the latest, according to Heathrow.
They would also each create between 70,000 and 150,000 local jobs, according to Heathrow's submission, while protecting the 114,000 jobs the airport already provides for those in neighbouring boroughs.
John Stewart, chairman of the anti-expansion campaign group HACAN, promised to fight all Heathrow's proposals 'tooth and nail'.
Heathrow's submission came two days after London mayor Boris Johnson revealed his own detailed plans for a new Thames Estuary airport or a four-runway Stansted.
Mr Johnson claimed the scheme, which would involve closing Heathrow and creating a new London borough housing up to 250,000 people on the site, would address the capital's housing shortage.
But Mr Ellar said his vision was founded on the 'economics of the madhouse', while fellow Labour councillor Ruth Cadbury claimed it would 'sound the death knell' for west London's economy.
All submissions will be considered by the Airports Commission, set up by the Government to determine the need for extra aviation capacity in the UK, It is due to announce its final verdict in summer 2015.
