A planning appeal against approval for a runway extension at Ronaldsway Airport is officially underway.

Residents of Derbyhaven have handed over papers to the Department of Local Government and the Environment.

The grounds for appeal aren't being revealed at this stage, but it's known there are concerns about the likely impact on the marine environment.

The main runway is currently about seventeen hundred metres in length, and the plan would involve extending the safety areas at both ends, including a 200 metre promontory into the sea.

The main reason behind the forty million pound scheme is the need to comply with new international regulations.

A ?1.5 million feasibility study has already been carried out, and the total cost of the work is put at about forty million pounds.

(Picture: A computer generated image of the proposed extension to the main runway at Ronaldsway, at the sea end).