15 Mar 2023
A leading planning lawyer has told Herts county councillors they do not have to sell the former Radlett airfield site for redevelopment as a rail freight terminal.
The advice, from Paul Brown KC, says HC needs “good reasons” to halt the sale – one of which is if the original planning application from nine years ago would be rejected today.
A letter sent to Herts county councillors said: “HCC appears to believe the sale is, essentially, a fait accompli: that there is no lawful option not to sell. This is, we believe, fundamentally incorrect. HCC can rely on the wealth of new factors since 2014 to justify returning this to committee for reconsideration, and deciding the second time around not to sell.”
Campaign group Save St Albans: Fight the Freight insists there have been significant commercial and logistical changes since 2014 that show the rail freight scheme is no longer needed, including a similar scheme at Sundon Quarry near Luton, and the new Willesden rail freight terminal in north-west London.
They argue because the Radlett scheme has no direct motorway access, it will lead to a 43 per cent increase in traffic on already congested local roads.
But new to the argument is the potential financial loss for Herts residents after HCC apparently agreed a cut-price deal on the land sale and failed to secure agreement from the developers SEGRO to fund necessary road improvements.
The letter adds: “Work has now begun on the site and it is apparent that the highway works and traffic measures that were anticipated have not been secured. It remains probable therefore that these will, ultimately, fall to HCC at considerable expense.”
Campaigners claim the council has agreed to sell the 300 acres of Green Belt for just £30m – far less than the market value for what developers call Big Box sites and far less than the estimated £100m needed for improvements to local roads if the terminal goes ahead.
Cllr Nuala Webb, who is one of the campaign leaders, said: “Big Box land in this area is currently selling for around £750,000 an acre but Herts are selling for around £100,000 an acre. The market price for the land is around £225m – yet HCC seems willing to accept around £30m.
“I’m not sure if it’s financial incompetence, negligence, or cock-up but Herts are failing the people they’re supposed to represent with such a bad deal. As the legal advice says, if developers are not obliged to fund road improvements and those costs fall to the council, it’s another good reason to not sell the land.
“We think many councillors felt they had no legal option other than to sell the land, but this advice clearly shows there is a choice and that they can rely on the wealth of new factors since 2014 to reject the sale.”
Paul Brown KC, who provided the independent legal advice for Save St Albans: Fight the Freight, has extensive experience in planning law and was legal advisor to Lord Taylor’s committee on the Review of Planning Guidance. Rhodri Price Lewis QC, also of Landmark Chambers provided advice to Herts CC about the sale of the land in 2016 and 2018.
