Beaconsfield MP Dominic Grieve writes exclusively to Bucks Free Press readers:

Heathrow Airport borders onto the Beaconsfield constituency. In fact, it is within walking distance, although the number of travellers making their way there on foot must be a very tiny number out of the tens of thousands who arrive by road, rail or air.

The proximity of the airport means that communities in my constituency will be directly affected by the proposals for expansion.

When the government announced, last October, that the third runway at Heathrow was the preferred option, I said at the time that there would be mixed feelings about this.

It has the potential to bring increased prosperity to Buckinghamshire’s economy, as well as that of the United Kingdom.

The Secretary of State for Transport said that there could be tens of thousands of additional local jobs, of which South Buckinghamshire would have its share.

Increasing capacity and choice for passengers and for shipping freight could bear dividends and make more companies decide to make their headquarters in the area.

But, in my constituency, communities like the Richings Park area around Iver will face direct, adverse environmental impact.

Burnham has also been pinpointed on maps of areas where there could be increased aircraft noise. I have concerns about pollution limits because these have been exceeded at the current levels of activity, prior to the expansion which is proposed.

On February 2, the government announced a 16-week public consultation, which runs until May 25. One of the public events, open to people from across the South Buckinghamshire area, will be held on Saturday, March 11 at the Colston Hall, in Gerrards Cross.

Call 0800 689 4968 for details.

The Heathrow Airport consultation gives the opportunity to residents to make their views known on all the implications of this plan.

Those who want to go through the consultation documents and weigh up the arguments for themselves can do so by visiting the consultations page at gov.uk.

I’m sure that many local people want to go through the consultation documents – which can be found via the consultations page on gov.uk – can weigh up the arguments for themselves and to contribute to the debate.