DEVELOPMENTS around Stansted could cost the tax payer over £100 billion but Essex County Council plans to stop the expansion by taking the airport owner to court.

The county council, which is vehemently opposed to a second Stansted runway, has put money aside and taken legal advice over a possible courtroom battle with the airport's operator, BAA.

Council officers calculate the necessary road and rail improvements will cost £13.5 billion on top of the new schools and hospitals needed for an expected 50,000 additional homes.

BAA must find the £4 billion to fund the airport developments but councillors are furious that council tax payers must foot the bill for essential infrastructure improvements.

Ongar county councillor Gerard McEwen said: "It's unforgivable to suggest that tax payers foot the bill. It should be paid for by the people who have put the developments forward. I'm appalled at the prospect of what it will do to our county and we have to do everything we can to safeguard against it."

Councillors said they did not want to reveal legal strategies but were talking to a number of parties to come up jointly with ideas. As one of the largest local authorities, it always has money set aside for unforeseen costs, such as legal action.

County council leader Lord Hanningfield said: "It's a very complex matter and there are several issues. We don't think the Government has fully considered the environmental impact, the amount of housing needed or the necessary transport developments."

The Stop Stansted Expansion group estimates the population within a ten-mile radius of the airport would double, or even treble. It adds that this rapid urbanisation would create "a concrete jungle within a generation" and Lord Hanningfield said the cost would exceed £100 billion over the years.

He added: "There are an enormous amount of people who don't really know the potential of this because it's one of the biggest projects in the world. A little bit of money spent now on legal action will be nothing compared with what it will cost us long term."