A report which has sparked fears of massive expansion at Manchester airport has been dismissed by a Styal village watchdog group.

The Government study predicts that Manchester will be the fastest growing of the country’s four biggest airports and will handle 449,000 take offs and landings by 2050 - up from 213,000 in 2005.

It will become as busy as the UK’s top airport Heathrow is today within 40 years, the study says.

The forecast prompted fears that expansion will cause major environmental impact and anxiety that more homes will be blighted by noise and nuisance.

A third runway would be the biggest threat, according to Cheshire East Councillor Gary Barton.

He said: "It’s inevitable that Manchester will grow but it’s a concern and something that will have a considerable impact on Styal.  Styal already suffers from the airport,and things like noise and pollution would only get worse. But the airport is a strong economic generator, we can’t say no to expansion and we want to keep good jobs in the area.  Styal has one of strongest residents’ groups I have seen, they are adept at working with the airport, not against it, they know it’s a necessity but at the same time don’t want to have any more noise and pollution. A third runway would be very worrying and there would be huge reaction to that, not just in Styal, but further afield, I hesitate to use the word devastating, but Styal would be right in the firing line."

The Government forecast was published in a report to the Committee on Climate Change, put forward by the Department for Transport as part of efforts to determine Britain’s carbon dioxide emissions.

Russell Cialis, of Holly Lane, secretary of the Styal Action Committee for airport affairs, said he is sceptical about the report.

He said: "The latest report we have seen shows that with the economic downturn passengers and flight movements are in fact considerably down and there is no sign of this changing. I don’t see how anyone can make these predictions for what will be in 40 years time, it’s a bit of nonsense."

Secretary of Styal Village Association Teri-Sue Highfield said: "If an expansion like this happens, we will be devastated, the whole idea of village life would just be torn up.  There would be an increase in traffic to the airport, farmers would be affected and the noise would be worse than it is now. Even if it doesn’t happen as quickly as predicted, it will be a slow death to Styal."

A Manchester Airport spokesman said: "We welcomed the report published by the Committee on Climate Change and as an industry pledged again to reduce levels of carbon dioxide emissions substantially in the years ahead. Aviation holds a key role, not only in providing essential transport links that enable economies to grow, but in bringing important benefits to society."