07 May 2024
Campaigners fighting proposals for a massive freight terminal on Green Belt land in St Albans have produced a film to help raise awareness of their legal challenge against the development.
The film is set to receive official certification this week and will then go on show at the Odyssey Cinema.
“We wanted to do something to help local people visualise the scale of the proposed development, ” said Cllr Terrie Smith one of the leaders of the Save St Albans: Fight the Freight campaign.
“By using a drone to fly over the area we can show exactly how much valuable Green Belt land will be lost. And by using computer generated images we can accurately show the size of the warehouses that have been proposed – one of which would be the size of terminal five at Heathrow Airport.”
The short movie has been produced by local film-maker Kevin Gardam. It includes interview with campaigners, experts and residents who talk about the potential impact on local traffic, the environment and on people who live right alongside the site.
“The development will have a devastating effect on everyone living in this area, ” said Cllr Smith. “We are fighting to safeguard the future of this lovely historic city, for now and for future generations.”
Save St Albans: Fight the Freight have sought a judicial review which they hope will overturn the sale of the land by Herts county council to developers Segro last year.
“We believe Herts acted unlawfully in selling the 300 acres of Green Belt for development because they bought the land as permanent open space for the benefit of the local community,” said Cllr Nuala Webb, co-leader of the Fight the Freight campaign.
Herts county council insist they were entitled to sell the land but say vital documents from a four year period around the time they agreed to buy the land for £1 in the mid-1980s have gone missing.
Save St Albans: Fight the Freight have statements from those involved in the sale that say the land was bought as open space which would mean that the council sold the land on unlawfully. The group believes the missing documents would support this.
The case is due to be heard at the Royal Courts of Justice in London next month.
