25 Jul 2023
Campaigners are keeping up the pressure over the threatened rail freight interchange as more people become aware of the impact it will have on their lives.
Members of Save St Albans: Fight the Freight are still working on arguments for a judicial review into the sale of the former Radlett airfield by Herts county council.
But they are struggling to obtain information from HCC and there are significant gaps in relation to the original purchase of the land from Lafarge.
One of the campaign leaders, Terrie Smith, explained: “You would imagine that Lafarge sold for just £1 because the land was to be permanent open space for the benefit of the community so had no commercial value.
“However, as seems to be the way with this saga, Herts have not been forthcoming with information and there are significant parts of the jigsaw missing.
“We are currently working on a series of Freedom of Information requests to HCC around the sale, the procedures, processes and legal steps taken to ensure this remained open space either under Public Health Act (1875) or Open Spaces Act (1906).
“We will be asking for minutes from meetings and all correspondence from that time to find out exactly the conditions that led to a sale price of just £1,” Terrie added.
Meanwhile, one of the Tory county councillors who voted for the sale of the land has met with further criticism for comments he made in the St Albans Times.
Cllr Richard Thake condemned local opposition to the sale, saying: “I suspect that whatever (legitimate) defence we might put forward, the wider population (of the area – no one else will care about this) will never be persuaded of our position, so, I guess, we leave it alone and get on with things.”
Helen Twining grew up in London Colney, finished her teaching career at Killigrew Nursery and Primary School in Chiswell Green and lived near the former Radlett Aerodrome until last year when she relocated to Norfolk.
She explained: “I still regularly visit and stay with my mum and 19 year old son who live within a mile of the site and very close to the A414 and the Park Street roundabout. I care greatly about the beautiful historical city of St Albans and the surrounding countryside.
“I have been campaigning against this SRFI development since 2012 and am passionate about preserving wildlife along with their protected habitat.”
She contacted Cllr Thake following his comments, and said: “This is what I took from your words: unless you live in the immediate area all other residents in Hertfordshire don’t care about this development, the local people in St Albans and district don’t matter and that Daisy Cooper was a disgrace because she was against the rail freight reflecting the very strong feelings of her constituents.
“If you look at the signatures on the three petitions, which gained 10,000 signatures, these people live in all areas of Hertfordshire. My friend, who signed all three petitions, lives in your constituency.
“In 2023 people care more than ever about the destruction of 1,000 acres of Green Belt land. This land hasn’t been desecrated by humans for more than 40-plus years; as a result, nature must be thriving. Surely this is so much more important to preserve than Segro making money and developing a road distribution centre – creating more pollution in Hertfordshire who promises to make the air cleaner.
“The 1,000 acres must be acting as a lung for St Albans, Radlett, London Colney, Bricket Wood and Park Street all fenced in by the A1M, A414, M1 and M25. Ironically despite these three major motorways being very close, the site doesn’t have direct access to any of them.
“It fails as a SRFI in every possible way which leading experts in every field have told you but it seems to have fallen on deaf ears.
“Margaret Thatcher said if the opposition got personal, it meant they’d run out of political argument. Calling Daisy Cooper ‘disgraceful’, I believe, is personal.
“If it was possible, I’d write to Eric Pickles, who is always cited as the person responsible for your decision on selling this land and Lord Verulam, who also sold his land with no thoughts to the people of St Albans. “Unfortunately, they seem to be unreachable for Joe Public. Lastly, could I ask those six councillors who voted in favour of selling this precious land, to email my mother and tell her why they are happy to send 3,000 more lorries past her front door everyday if this development goes ahead.”
Terrie Smith offered her own take on the comments: “The real disgrace is the large number of low calibre councillors such as Richard Thake who show no intellectual rigour, no understanding of the impact of their decisions, no desire to represent the best interests of the people who live in the county and no interest in properly debating and discussing huge decisions such as this monstrosity.”
