The leader of Waverley Borough Council has urged his Rushmoor counterparts to clip the wings of Farnborough Airport chiefs by rejecting their expansion plans.

Cllr Paul Follows made an impassioned plea to activists last Sunday against controversial plans to increase the number of private flights from the airport.

He derided claims the expansion would generate growth and accused aviation chiefs about putting profit before people in vowing to keep up the fight.

Extinction Rebellion, Farnborough Noise Group, WBC and Alton Climate Action Network were some of the groups who took part in the peaceful protest and blockade by the Whittle Memorial roundabout.

And they were told by Cllr Follows and WBC’s environment and sustainability chief, Steve Williams, that the council would continue to oppose the airport’s expansion – through the courts if necessary – in urging Rushmoor to throw out the scheme.

“We are clearly all impacted,” said Cllr Follows, in accusing the government of “greenwashing”.

“It’s not about people or even planes, it’s about profit.

“The expansion will significantly increase noise and pollution, there isn’t even the pretence that economic growth can possibly be the driver.

“This is purely and simply about the greed of the airport, the convenience of the wealthy at the expense of the people and the planet.”

Cllr Williams added: “This expansion at Farnborough Airport is not in the interests of local people at all and is the wrong thing to do in a climate crisis.”

The protest included speeches by air quality scientist, Dr Pete Knapp, who claimed that nitrogen dioxide levels at the nearby Farnborough College are nearly two and half times above the WHO guidelines.

Dr Knapp spoke about particles created from jet engine emissions and listed the illnesses associated with exposure to them, ranging from respiratory complaints in children to diabetes, dementia, increases in brain tumours and brain cancer.

And key activist and Farnborough Noise Group founder Colin Shearn also produced plane-size holes in the airport’s business case, calling their claims that Sustainable Aviation Fuel was being made onsite a “complete fabrication”.

He also noted that both Hampshire County Council and Rushmoor Borough Council declared a Climate Emergency in 2019 with the legal onus on these councils to offset carbon dioxide emissions from Farnborough Airport expansion.

Yet he has calculated that offsetting the emissions from the proposed private jet flights would mean banning all vehicles across the entire county’s public roads.

The applicants claim the environmental impact of its proposed rise – which could see the number of annual flights rise from 50,000 to 70,000 – won’t be as large as feared because it serves smaller aircraft.

A spokesperson said: “Farnborough Airport’s environmental footprint is a fraction that of a traditional commercial passenger airport based upon the same number of flights.

“This is because the smaller-lighter aircraft which use Farnborough Airport generate far less noise and emissions than those of larger commercial passenger aircraft.

“Not least, these aircraft also have fewer seats, which means Farnborough Airport’s passengers create hardly any environmental impact on the local road network, both in terms of noise and air quality.

“For traditional commercial passengers airports this can be a major contributor to their overall environmental footprint.