DISCUSSIONS are to take place on who will pay for the relocation of Colnbrook’s recycling centre which will be forced to move as a result of the Heathrow decision, the Observer can reveal.

Bosses from Lakeside Energy From Waste and Heathrow Airport will sit down to discuss the move in the near future after the controversial plan to build a third runway was approved last week.

The centre has only been operational since 2010 and a relocation is likely to cost millions. The recycling plant will be forced to move sites as part of the airport’s expansion, and negotiations will take place over the cost.

Lakeside is seeking a like-for-like replacement for their current site in Lakeside Road, Colnbrook, and it is understood that employees’ jobs would not be affected as part of the transition.

Adam Afriyie revealed in Parliament last year that the government would not be picking up the bill to cover the move, meaning representatives from so Lakeside and Heathrow will have to discuss finances.

A spokesman for the site said: “We are hoping for a like-for-like replacement but we still need to get planning permission and building commission.“We’ve held initial discussions with Heathrow but we need to sit down and talk to them again (now the plans are approved).

“We have written to all of our employees just to say that this is the first stage of the process.”

Danny Coulston, the Lakeside Director of Operations, revealed last year that the firm would be forced to move sites if the plans to build a third runway was approved by the Government.

 Windsor MP Adam Afriyie quizzed former Secretary of State for Transport Robert Goodwill on whether the government would contribute to the move, but Mr Goodwill replied: “The costs associated with the Lakeside Energy from Waste Plant were considered in the Airports Commission’s assessment of land acquisition costs.

“If the Government was minded to support the North-West runway at Heathrow, the planning and costs of moving the Energy from Waste Plant would be a matter for the airport to take forward with the owners of the site.”

The recycling site, which takes rubbish from Slough and surrounding areas and converts it into green energy, was not the only group in Colnbrook that was opposed to Heathrow’s plans.

Councillor Scott Bryant, chairman of Colnbrook Parish Council, added: “We will be working with the community now to see where we can take this.

“We will challenge, question and find out just where we stand.

“That’s all we can do at the moment.”

A spokesman for Heathrow added: “Heathrow will fully fund the cost of our expansion project. No taxpayers’ money will be used to expand. We will seek to come to an agreement with the relevant parties.”