Railfreight - Green Belt saves St Albans
2nd October 2008
Anne Main reacts to today's news that the Secretary of State has rejected the Radlett rail freight terminal proposal.
Anne Main, MP for St Albans, has reacted to today's news that the Secretary of State has rejected the Radlett rail freight terminal proposal.
The Secretary of State agreed with the Planning Inspector, who recommended that the proposal be rejected on the grounds that it would represent an "inappropriate development in the Green Belt". She also felt that Helioslough had not demonstrated that there were not other, more appropriate, sites for the development.
Anne said:
"This is the right decision. We want freight off our roads, but we don't want lorry parks in the Green Belt. The massive opposition to this proposal has been demonstrated time and again over the past few years, and it was always very clear that St Albans did not want this wholly inappropriate proposal.
I have been a vigorous upholder of the Green Belt precisely for reasons such as this. People who dismiss the value of the Green Belt forget that one of its principal reasons was to encourage development in more appropriate locations.
This application was deeply flawed, and yet the appeal has cost St Albans taxpayers an estimated million pounds, in addition to the funds raised by the STRIFE campaign. Sadly, homeowners in Park Street have also been massively impacted by the proposal, and have seen their houses plummet in value and stall on the market due to the blight this proposal cast over the village.
Whilst I understand there is a possible window for Helioslough to appeal this decision, I do not think they would ever be able to overcome the principal objection that this development is inappropriate for this Green Belt site.
My congratulations go out to the STRIFE team, who led a dynamic and successful campaign, of which I was proud to be a part. Thankfully, common sense has prevailed and the Secretary of State has listened to the views of the experts who agreed that this proposal was entirely inappropriate for this site in the Green Belt."
Useful Links:
No2Railfreight campaign website: www.no2railfreight.com
STRIFE campaign website: www.strife.biz
Photo: Anne Main with STRIFE campaigners"