Staines Moor. Photo: Nigel Cox CC-BY-SA-2.0

Cutbacks have put paid to a controversial scheme to build a rail link across common land.

Heathrow Airtrack had planned a land swap at Staines Moor in Surrey to enable it to build the rail connection to Heathrow Airport’s Terminal Five from the South and West.

But the Open Spaces Society opposed the plans, saying the land offered in exchange was inferior.

Welcoming the news that the proposals had been withdrawn, the society’s general secretary Kate Ashbrook said: “Staines Moor is a unique survival from mediaeval times, wedged between the M25 motorway and Staines reservoir. The public has rights to walk and ride here. It is far too precious to lose to modern development.

“We are highly relieved that Heathrow Airtrack has had second thoughts and withdrawn its plans which would have destroyed this very special place.”

Much of the land at risk is a site of special scientific interest. Originally a clearing in the Forest of Windsor, it has remained unploughed for over 1,000 years. The moor has been registered common land since 1065.