Bucks County Council’s support of Heathrow’s third runway has been branded “illogical” by a resident who live near the airport.

Geoff Bennett, an Iver Heath resident and councillor, says residents in the south of the county already suffer with noise and air pollution from Heathrow as well as traffic problems.

His comments come after the Bucks Free Press reported that Bucks County Council has joined more than 30 other councils – including Slough - in writing a letter to the government backing the airport’s expansion plans earlier this week.

Mr Bennett said the county council’s decision to back the expansion of the airport was “ill-conceived” because it will cause “major problems” for residents in the area.

He said: “Personally I think the idea is ludicrous. We have six or seven major infrastructure projects planned for Iver, like Crossrail and we are going to be overwhelmed with traffic. We have no relief road which we desperately need and there is no funding for it. Our roads are overcrowded.

“I cannot understand their reasoning, it seems illogical. The county council recognises that Iver has major infrastructure problems yet they are backing the expansion. The area could become totally gridlocked.” 

Mr Bennett said an extra runway at Gatwick or a new airport somewhere else would be preferable to Heathrow expansion because “Iver is already contributing enough.”

He said: “For me personally, I feel there ought to be some sharing of the problem. We all need air travel, we all want to go on nice holidays, but it is not fair that the burden falls on just one area.

“Martin Tett [county council leader] has said in the past that Iver was suffering major problems. It would be sensible if he joined up his thinking into a coordinated approach rather than cherry-picking projects to approve.”  

In a statement released earlier this week, cllr Martin Tett recognised the impact the expansion would have on those in South Bucks and said safeguards would be needed to protect residents and the environment.