Heathrow Airport has lined up a green belt playing field as a potential location for a new car park in its latest consultation.

The land at Little Harlington Playing Fields, just to the north of the current airport site, could be swallowed up if the third runway is built at the airport.

The green belt site could also be the location of the new Immigration Removal Centre, with Harmondsworth IRC set to shut down to make way for the proposed runway.

The land lies within Heathrow's Compulsory Purchase Zone and is owned by Hillingdon Council, which currently rents it out as a local sports facility.

It has been the borough's most used grass sporting facilities since the 1950s and is home to 19 football clubs as well as casual bookings for football and cricket.

The proposal has been dubbed "ironic" by anti-Heathrow campaigner Robert Barnstone, who highlighted the airport's pledge to have “no more airport-related traffic on the roads compared to today”.

Little Harlington Playing Fields at site 4 may be turned into a car park and immigration removal centre

The pledge has been one of the cornerstones of the Heathrow proposal, presented to MPs ahead of a vote later this year which would finalise the hub as the government's official site for airport expansion.

Rob Barnstone, coordinator of Stop Heathrow Expansion, said: “It is deeply disappointing and worrying for our local environment that Heathrow have expressed intent to build on so many green belt land sites.

"There is a great irony in pledging to have no additional cars using an expanded airport compared with now, then wanting to build a huge new car park on green belt land site. The pledge is now simply laughable."

The third runway will extend over the M25 but the length of it and options for the relocation of the M25 are up for consultation

A spokesman for Heathrow told getwestlondon: "We are just at the first consultation phase and we have invited everyone to give feedback on the consultation.

"We are not at the stage where we have made decisions about where to put the car park."

Hillingdon Council has been approached for comment but has not yet responded at the time of publishing.

Heathrow launched its first official consultation on infrastructure and airspace for the North West Runway on Wednesday (January 17).

The airport is holding 40 consultation events across neighbouring areas as part of the 10-week consultation allowing locals to feedback on options for the M25, runway length, terminal provisions and priorities for remapping airspace.

To find out more details about the consultation events, detailed proposals and to respond to the consultation visit the website .

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