IS THIS RACHEL REEVES' RISKIEST GAMBLE YET?

The under-fire Chancellor is expected to announce today that a controversial third runway at Heathrow will finally get the go-ahead to boost economic growth. But locals claim they have been 'stabbed in the back' and fear decades of noise and disruption with little tangible benefit

- Adam Toms

MEDIEVAL villages Harmondsworth and Longford are extraordinary places of contradiction. Once nestled deep in the midst of the English countryside, the former's Grade I-listed Harmondsworth Barn remains remarkably well preserved in the shadow of the aircraft hangers of nearby Heathrow Airport, and technology that could never have been imagined when its timber frame was first erected.

Now both villages are said to be at risk because of their proximity to Europe's busiest airport, a symbol of the bustling, loud 21st century global economy.

Today, Rachel Reeves is widely expected to announce the approval of a third runway for the West London site - a huge infrastructure project that would see all of Longford and a big chunk of Harmondsworth levelled, according to consultation documents.

The controversial scheme, the biggest civil engineering works since the ill-fated HS2, has been in the offing for decades, consistently kicked into the long grass by successive administrations. The costs were estimated to be at least £14billion in 2014 and are likely to have soared since.

As far back as 2006, an official review of long-term air transport policy reaffirmed the need for additional runways at Heathrow and Stansted. In 2016, a new north west runway and terminal became government policy. In 2020, the Supreme Court allowed a planning application to proceed.

Progress has since stalled.

Now the Chancellor, in her boldest - and perhaps riskiest - move yet, is poised to restart the long-awaited expansion scheme in a bid to help grow the British economy.

But are the cards stacked against the proposal? Many locally think so and little green signs reading "Stop Heathrow Expansion" are scattered along the road into Harmondsworth.

Locals fear the noise of increased over-flights, as well as years of building work.