The leader of Hillingdon Council is "deeply disappointed" with David Cameron's announcement to delay the decision on whether to build a third runway at Heathrow for another six months .

Referring to David Cameron's now infamous statement made in 2009 promising there would be no third runway, Cllr Ray Puddifoot said: "The government should rule out Heathrow expansion now, not in six months' time. No ifs, no buts.

"It has been proven yet again that it cannot be accommodated without resulting in unacceptable levels of noise, air pollution and destroying local communities.

"It’s deeply disappointing that our residents have to live with more uncertainly and distress while this futile debate rumbles on.”

Residents of Harmondsworth were "not surprised" at the announcement after their doubts that a decision before Christmas were proven true.

Christine Taylor, a Stop Heathrow Expansion Committee member who faces losing her home, said: "We are not surprised that the government has delayed making a decision.

"The fact that Gatwick has not been ruled out indicates that they know they cannot meet pollution targets at Heathrow.

"We are confident that a third runway will never be built but it is devastating for many residents that we have more months of delay and blight."

Harmondsworth resident Neil Keveren feels that David Cameron should honour original his pledge of "No Ifs No Buts No Third Runway" and will continue to battle to save the villages.

He said: "We won last time through the courts and we will win again.”

'Generous' compensation offer for residents

But Matt Gorman, Heathrow’s environment and sustainability director, is "fully confident" Heathrow can meet the environmental test the Government has set and reiterates the "generous" offer that has been put forward for those villagers affected by the expansion.

He said: "Like those residents, we want a decision and we want certainty as soon as possible.

"For those residents where we might need to buy homes, we put forward a generous compensation offer for buying homes 25% above market value.

"We have offered one-to-one surgery sessions to understand more about where we are and our plans for compensation in future but that doesn't substitute for a clear government decision so I think the challenge really is for the government to make that decision as soon as possible."

Mr Gorman told getwestlondon that Heathrow has put forward a plan after extensive consultation over the last few years, which sees Heathrow "developing their benefits" but also "reducing the number of people affected by aircraft noise and meeting air quality targets".

He added: "The area within 2km of Heathrow, which includes Harmondsworth , already meets European pollution limits that we need to.

"You have to move 2km away from the airport to the M4 motorway to find it doesn't meet those limits. 85% of the pollution there and more is not related to the airport."

Ms Taylor says Mr Gorman's notion that "85% of the traffic on our roads is nothing to do with the airport is a nonsense".

She said: "We were promised that these pollution limits would be reached in 2015, because when we fought last time, the runway was due to be operational in 2015.

"Even Heathrow talks about the amount of freight they ship in and out of the airport. You only have to look at Colnbrook to see the number of heavy goods vehicles we have on our roads."

Speaking about Mr Gorman's "generous" compensation package for residents, Ms Taylor said: "They have not put anything into writing."

"They only have to look in the Uxbridge Gazette to see house prices in the borough and he's got to realise how depressed the housing market is in our area. If i sold my house I wouldn't be able to buy anywhere else in the borough.

"There's no document for compensation - they don't say who will get it - where is this generous compensation scheme? What are they giving to tenants and landlords? As far we know they're only considering owner occupiers.

"Let's get Matt Gorman to find me one person in Harmondsworth who think that the compensation is generous."