SOUTHAMPTON International Airport's soaraway success could treble the number of planes using the airstrip within the next seven years, according to Southampton Itchen MP John Denham.

Now the former junior minister is calling for public consultation to make sure a balance is struck between the growth of the airport and the protection of local residents.

He is urging people to contact his constituency office to make their voices heard in the wake of the government's Consultation on the Future of Air Transport document which outlines complex plans for the future of air travel in the south.

The MP chose a site high above the Eastleigh runway and near the flight path at Witts Hill, Southampton, to drive home his message.

Pointing to the consultation document, he said the government thought Southampton, which catered for 800,000 passengers last year, would reach 1.6 million by 2015.

He said: "The shock is that the British Airport Authority feels that the airport will double in size in two or three years' time and treble in size by 2010. The expansion is far bigger and far faster than anyone under the flight path might have expected.

"What I'm saying is if that is going to happen there needs to be public consultation. On one hand you get something like Dibden Bay and the inquiry runs for years, while on the other hand you get a virtual trebling of the airport with very little public debate."

He warned that because of the limits of the airport's runway, a trebling of passengers would mean a trebling of the number of planes because larger aircraft could not easily use the airstrip.

"It is going to be quite an impact."

Mr Denham stressed he was not taking an anti-airport stance and acknowledged that more people wanted to fly.

He added: "Nobody has broken any rules here. The airport is doing what it is entitled to do under the planning laws.

"One of the problems I raised in the House of Commons back in 1993 is that there are no direct planning controls over the number of flights from any airport. I still think it is a weakness in the planning system - it is the sheer amount of business going through that is potentially the problem."

The MP said he was considering raising the expansion of Southampton Airport in Parliament when the consultation on the government's proposals was over at the end of this month and called for local people to make their voices heard.

He added: "I am also hoping that the city council in Southampton, which up until the end of last week hadn't decided whether they were going to respond to the consultation, will be much more pro-active and go out and seek the views of local residents."

A BAA spokesman supported the view that people should respond to the government's consultation document.

She added: "Through our airport consultative committee, we regularly update representatives of local residents and local councillors.

"It is a question of striking a balance. We have an airport which is serving the whole region and which is a significant employer - but we are concerned about local people's views. We regularly consult with those people and are always willing to listen to those views."