15 May 2023
A handful of councillors have the power to halt the imminent sale of the former Radlett airfield for a strategic rail freight terminal – and force their peers to reconsider the proposals.
Thanks to St Albans Lib Dem Cllr Sandy Walkington, HCC has been forced to refer its decision to agree terms for the sale for further scrutiny by elected members of the county council.
Sandy said: “Frankly it was shocking that the deal was about to be done by officers with elected members expected to accept the decision as a fait accompli. As local campaigners have shown, there are a whole load of unanswered questions and the rush to sell the land stinks.
Members of the overview and scrutiny committee will have the opportunity to call-in the scheme and refer it for further consideration.
They are Cllrs David Andrews (C, Chair), Sandy Walkington (LD, Vice-Chair), Richard Butler (Lab), Terry Hone (C), Jeff Jones (C), Michael Muir (C), Stella Nash (C), Anthony Rowlands (LD) and Richard Thake (C).
Sandy added: “Elected members should have the opportunity of probing these important concerns and making sure they have been taken into account in the proposed deal, If we are not reassured by the answers, I hope the members of the committee will be brave enough to refer the whole decision back for reconsideration. The people of St Albans and Hertfordshire deserve something better than a hole-in-the-corner decision by unelected officers.”
He elaborated on why he had strived to achieve this result: “The ruling administration at County Hall has always parroted that they are ‘reluctant sellers’. The county council’s legal advice says that the council can choose not to sell the land if there have been major changes in circumstances since the Secretary of State granted planning permission.
“Well since that decision in 2014 we have had Brexit with all its implications for rail freight and there has also been the entirely unforeseeable explosion in e-commerce with the consequent huge increase in white van traffic. Both of these are potentially hugely impactful on the need for the terminal and the kind of traffic and burden on the road network it will generate. So has the council sought independent analysis of the impact of these issues?
“The other issue is whether SEGRO are going to pay for all the required highway improvements, come what may, or whether there will be hidden future costs for the country council and council tax payers making the deal even less good in financial terms.”
Terrie Smith, one of the leaders of the Save St Albans; Fight the Freight campaign said: “ We welcome this development. We have been concerned about the way HCC have continually ignored the weight of evidence we have presented to them that highlight changes since planning was approved in 2014 and show that the rail freight terminal is no longer viable. And we hope that once all councillors consider this evidence they will do the right thing and stop the sale.”
The petition calling on Herts CC to stop the sale of their 300 acres of Green Belt on the site has attracted 8,000 signatures.
The Fight the Freight campaign have organised a public meeting at the Vision Hall in Radlett on Sunday (May 21) at 2pm to update residents on the likely impact should the terminal go ahead. And there’s a protest planned at County Hall in Hertford on Tuesday May 23 before an HCC meeting where campaigners will be urging councillors to stop the sale.
An HCC spokesperson said: “County council officers have been working to finalise the legal agreements and complete the sale of land at the former Radlett aerodrome site to SEGRO since Cabinet approved the sale of land in December 2022.
“The overview and scrutiny committee meeting on Wednesday May 24 will give councillors an opportunity to discuss the process which resulted in the decision to sell the land, and the reasons behind it.
“Since the planning application for a rail freight terminal on this site was submitted to SADC in 2006, the county council consistently objected to the scheme. However, following the Secretary of State’s decision, after a public inquiry, to give planning permission for the rail freight terminal, we reluctantly accept that we have no legal option other than to sell the land. Our focus is therefore on trying to negotiate the best deal we can for local residents.”
The meeting will start at 10am on Wednesday May 24 and will be livestreamed at www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/watchmeetings
