Heathrow has confirmed plans for a six week consultation with local households, asking for their views on the short listed third runway plan.

Speaking at the Runways UK conference, Heathrow chief executive Colin Matthews outlined the next stage of the Airports Commission process and announced Heathrow’s intention to work closely with local communities to improve the short listed North-West runway proposal.

The results will help Heathrow understand what is most important to local residents and will be used to refine the runway proposal before it is resubmitted to the Airports Commission in May.

The consultation will begin on February 3rd.

During the consultation process, a direct postal mail out will be sent to 120,000 households and businesses likely to be most impacted by the proposed plans.

Those outside this area will have the opportunity to share their views online.

Drop-in events taking place in nine local areas will also give people the chance to ask questions and influence the plans.

Matthews said,: “We believe our proposal to expand Heathrow is the right way to deliver the capacity Britain needs to connect to fast growing economies around the world.

“This consultation is to make sure we correctly understand what local people value and that we can take their views into account as we refine our proposal.

“The more people that tell us their views, the more successful the process will be. We know that opinion is divided locally about whether a third runway should go ahead or not, but everyone has an interest in making sure that if a third runway does happen it is developed in the best way possible.”

The consultation is a continuation of Heathrow’s engagement with the local community which has been on-going throughout the Airports Commission process.

The results will be shared with the Commission for its independent review.