£1.5bn Thames container port decision undermines case for a railfreight interchange in St Albans
31st May 2007
In light of the Government's decision to approve the new London Gateway port and rail interchange in Essex, Anne Main has further disputed the need for another railfreight interchange at the former Radlett aerodrome site.
In light of the Government's decision to approve the new London Gateway port and rail interchange in Essex, Anne Main has further disputed the need for another railfreight interchange at the former Radlett aerodrome site.
The Minister's decision means that an interchange will be built on a 1,500-acre brownfield former oil refinery site at Shellhaven, Thurrock. A 700-acre logistics and business park, one of the largest in Europe, will also be constructed.
Anne said:
"This is a massive development which will I feel will fulfil the need for a railfreight interchange in the East of England region.
This interchange is being built on a brownfield site, identified by the East of England Regional Assembly (EERA) as a strategic and appropriate site for such a development. In the original planning decision for the Radlett site, EERA said that they did not believe that the former aerodrome was suitable.
I believe that this decision undermines the developer's argument that we need a railfreight interchange in St Albans. I do not see the rationale behind loading freight onto the railways in Essex and unloading it in Hertfordshire to then drive it into London.
The Shellhaven development is an appropriate development on an appropriate brownfield site where there is a need for redevelopment and jobs. As far as I am concerned this decision blows away the need for a railfreight interchange in St Albans, on a site which would be located in a village setting, on the green belt, with little access to suitably qualified workers and inadequate transport links.""
