DETAILS of a meeting to decide whether to expand the runway at Southampton Airport have been unveiled.

Councillors in Eastleigh will be asked to make the final decision on plans to expand the runway at Southampton Airport during a full council meeting set to be held on April 8 at 2pm.

It comes as the plans to extend the runway by 164m were discussed by the Eastleigh Local Area Committee for almost 17 hours between March 25 and 26 but they were rejected.

The move means that full council at Eastleigh Borough Council will have to take the final decision.

It comes as civic chiefs said the plans are considered a matter of “borough-wide significance”.

As reported,  at last week’s meeting concerns were raised over the impact the expansion would have on noise, pollution and air quality.

But some councillors and local businesses supported the scheme as they said it would boost the economy and create more than 1,000 jobs.

Eastleigh Borough Council said all 38 borough councillors have access to, and have been asked to view, the public participation that took place during last week’s meeting.

In a statement the authority said: “Therefore, we ask members of the public to consider whether they wish to participate again at full council or to make new or fresh comments. Participants can either speak, provide an audio/video statement or provide a written statement that will be read out on their behalf.  All participants will have up to three minutes each with equal time allowed for those wishing to speak for or against. “

The deadline for registering and submitting statements is April 5 at 11.59pm.

Those who would like to speak at the meeting can email democratic.services@eastleigh.gov.uk  or call 07823 626625 or 07876 217751.