17 Apr 2023
No answers have been forthcoming from Herts county council over whether fresh evidence presented by rail freight campaigners could prevent the sale of the former Radlett airfield site.
A damning dossier presented to HCC earlier this month by Save St Albans: Fight the Freight highlights a number of significant material changes since planning was approved in 2014 suggesting the rail terminal is not needed and won’t be viable.
Drawing on government data showing a fall in demand for rail freight terminals since Brexit, the campaigners highlighted two new rail freight interchanges at Willesden in north-west London and Sundon Quarry near Luton that they say makes the proposed Radlett site unnecessary.
Developers Segro have applied for the rail conditions at another of their rail freight interchanges in Northampton to be dropped, and campaigners fear the same will happen at Radlett, with the facility operating as a warehouse distribution centre.
Terrie Smith, one of the campaign leaders said: “The council say they are reluctant sellers. Legal advice has consistently said they can refuse to sell if they
have good reasons. Our dossier provides those good reasons and we had hoped the council would take note and work with us. There’s growing anger at their refusal to investigate, refusal to listen and refusal to act.
“Planning approval was granted on valuable Green Belt land because of the supposed advantages of rail freight. If this site is not going to be a rail freight terminal then the planning process must start again.”
Save St Albans: Fight the Freight have now organised a public meeting at 8pm on Thursday April 27 at Greenwood Park community centre where they will update residents on the campaign.
Terrie added: “There are some important questions Herts county council is refusing to answer concerning the proposed sale. These are big issues and we are now looking at the legal position around their handling of this whole process.”
“The council says they can’t tell us the agreed sale price because it’s commercially sensitive, but that doesn’t explain why they haven’t told us the
independent valuation price. They have refused to say whether there is a purchase price option agreement on the sale of the land and, if it exists, what the conditions are, who signed it and when.”
A petition urging the council to refuse to sell the land has now gathered nearly 6,500 signatures.
