LONG-TERM plans to regenerate two under invested areas could leave residents high and dry and surrounded by businesses and hotels, according to councillors.

Residents have just two days to respond to Hillingdon Council's strategy to designate Yiewsley and West Drayton as a 'Heathrow Opportunity Area'.

This would mean a relaxing of planning laws, encouraging businesses to build office blocks and hotels, to boost employment in the area, with the aim of creating 9,000 plus jobs. Hayes town centre is also affected.

Already though councillors and clued-up residents have spotted the dangers that the 'Local Development Framework' brings, and have likened the plans to turning the area into the Bath Road on the A4, of which's heavy traffic and over development have made it uninhabitable.

SWIMMERS are preparing to make their last splashes in Yiewsley Swimming Pool- with it set to close to the public on Saturday.

In April it was announced that the pool in Otterfield Road, Yiewsley, which has existed since 1934, originally as an outdoor lido.

Ironically, it seems that the newly refurbished Uxbridge outdoor lido, has spelled the death knell, with its £26 million restoration, forming the new Hillingdon Sports and Leisure Complex.

66 HATCH LANE, HARMONDSWORTH - Single storey side extension.

HOLLOWAY LANE QUARRY, HARMONDSWORTH - Temporary wood recycling operation.

SIPSON HOUSE, 595 SIPSON ROAD - Change of use from Class B1 to Class D1 Non-Residential Institutions comprising a children's nursery, including remodelling of toilets and removal of modern partitions on lower and uppers ground floors.

60 EAST ROAD - Single storey rear extension with 2 rooflights involving the demolition of existing conservatory and outbuilding to rear.

A CHURCH has offered an olive branch to the jobless, by setting up support groups to share ideas of how to get back into work.

The groups would be held at St Matthew's Church in Yiewsley High Street.

THE Mawhinney Review has recommended that a 'Heathrow Hub' would be too costly for the Government to pursue- but the Department of Transport have not ruled it out just yet.

A series of public meetings in West Drayton are currently ongoing on what a hub at Iver would mean for the area, but former transport secretary Lord Brian Mawhinney has recommended a 'superhub' be built at Old Oak Common instead.

Lord Mawhinney's review- to assess how Heathrow Airport be incorporated into the proposed high speed rail network- was commissioned by outgoing Labour transport secretary Lord Adonis in March.

THE first public meeting to discuss the possibility of a Heathrow Hub took place last night (Wednesday) with residents expressing an array of environmental concerns.

If a 12-platform hub is to be built at Iver for High Speed Two, and on the edge of West Drayton, it would have an inescapable impact on the area.

Over 60 residents including councillors, attended last night's hour long public meeting at Laurel Lane Primary School, in Laurel Lane, West Drayton, led by MP John McDonnell (Lab).

THE creation of thousands of jobs, economic prosperity, and a direct rail link into Europe: Is the Heathrow Hub actually the perfect remedy to West Drayton's problems?

For the last three decades, the towns of Yiewsley and West Drayton have seen their local shops and pubs disappear, while the population has swelled despite a lack of investment, putting a strain on services.

Even the local swimming pool is being closed after years of neglect to make way for a health centre which has been in demand for over 15 years, with much of the area made up of social housing.

Yiewsley High Street was last year named as the worst hit by the recession, with around 33 per cent of all shops being forced to close due to financial hardship.

If a 'Heathrow Hub' is confirmed, as a national and international gateway, in addition to the incoming Crossrail station it could attract unprecedented investment to the area.

LAND FRONTING NORTHCOTE HIGH STREET, HARMONSWORTH - Installation of 450mm by 1,200mm by 1,600mm high green BT cabinet.

21 HIGH STREET - Use of site as a 65 space car park for a temporary period of 2 years.

THIS is a map drawn up by engineers Arup of where they would place the Heathrow Hub, to connect High Speed Two with the rest of the country.

Straddling the Great Western Line, the trains would emerge from Central London at an underground tunnel near Tavistock Road, Yiewsley, before entering the 12-platform hub station.

The Mawhinney Review- set up by the outgoing Government, could report back its findings on how to connect Heathrow Airport to the HS2 line as soon as this week, with the hub a strong option.

It is likely to have an inescapable impact on the communities of Yiewsley, West Drayton, and Iver, bringing job prospects and prosperity, but also years of increased noise and traffic during its construction.

What do you think of the map? Will you be affected and will you welcome it if it is approved?

AN ENTREPRENEUR and founder of an international company which employs around 1,000 staff locally has died aged 83.

John Guest MBE, died unexpectedly on July 10, after years of ground breaking work in the engineering industry.

John Guest formed his first company in 1961, in Horton Road, Yiewsley, specialising in precision engineering and tool making.