The councils are seeking a judicial review of plans for Stansted Airport

Last December's aviation White Paper supported a new runway at Stansted Airport in Essex by 2011.

The councils in Essex and Hertfordshire are alarmed at what they see as a quadrupling of capacity at Stansted. They have now lodged leave to seek a judicial review of the plans.

The group includes Essex County Council and Hertfordshire County Council.

The other councils bringing the case are district councils of Uttlesford, North Hertfordshire and East Hertfordshire.

Our legal challenge will explore just how much local accountability remains in the UK planning system Robert Ellis, leader of Hertfordshire County Council

The councils say the plans put forward by airport operator BAA represent a "land grab" that will give the company the ability to expand the airport to a capacity of up to 120 million passengers a year.

Lord Hanningfield, leader of Essex County Council, said: "Airports in the UK have a history of creeping expansion.

"We are being asked to accept a four-fold increase in the capacity of Stansted.

"This is not acceptable and it stretches credulity that we be expected to accept a location of a second runway that would give the airport the footprint and hence the potential capacity to be the world's largest airport."

Success of previous challenge

Robert Ellis, leader of Hertfordshire County Council, said: "We believe the White Paper is fundamentally flawed.

"The White Paper's support for the new runway pre-empts the established planning process which would deal intelligently with expansion proposals through a fully accountable process.

"Our legal challenge will explore just how much local accountability remains in the UK planning system."

It was Essex County Council which successfully mounted a legal challenge last year over the exclusion of Gatwick airport in West Sussex from earlier deliberations on airport expansion.