District Council's decision on Rail Freight upheld

1.49.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Fri 3rd Oct 2008

Sandy Walkington campaigning against the Rail Freight Development

Hazel Blears, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, announced on 2nd October, her decision on the Rail Freight planning inquiry.

She has decided to dismiss the appeal by Helioslough Ltd against St Albans City and District Council's refusal of planning permission for a Rail Freight terminal on land in and around the former aerodrome in Park Street.

She concluded that the proposal did not comply with the development plan, as it was inappropriate development on the Green Belt. She was not satisfied that Heliouslough had demonstrated that no other site would come forward to meet the need for further strategic Rail Freight Interchanges to serve London and the south east. She concluded that the benefits of the proposal would not clearly outweigh the harm to the Green Belt and did not constitute very special circumstances. *

Cllr Robert Donald, Leader, commented: "This announcement today is great news and confirms the stance I have taken with the council, the public and the Strife action group, to defend the Green Belt from such inappropriate development. Protecting the Green Belt as robustly in any similar circumstances will continue to be one of our council's key priorities. Had this development been allowed it would have adversely affected the historic character of our city and district forever and in my view it would have resulted in irreparable damage to our environment and infrastructure and led to traffic gridlock in south St Albans. So this was a good day and I am greatly relieved, as many residents will be, but I am not complacent. Helioslough, the developers, can still bring a legal challenge. If they do, we will of course continue the legal battle to ensure this hard won victory remains intact."

This has been a good example of the leadership role the Council plays in defending the District from inappropriate development and we have had excellent support from our partners. Defending the green belt is one of the Council's key priorities so that the district can retain its unique identity and we will continue to seek such successes in the future."

Cllr Chris Brazier, Portfolio Holder for Planning and Conservation said: "I am delighted that the council's decision has been upheld, this vindicates the thoroughness of the planning process in the district, and the attention to detail demonstrated by our planning and legal teams to defend the council's decisions."

The decision follows St Albans City and District Council's refusal of the planning application for a Rail Freight Terminal in February 2007. This was followed by a planning inquiry to consider the appeal by Helioslough, which lasted from 6th November to 20th December 2007, during which the council together with Hertsmere Borough Council and Hertfordshire County Council opposed Helioslough's plans for a rail freight interchange involving buildings of up to 330,000 square metres, together with parking for up to 1,665 cars and 617 lorries.

Following the end of the public inquiry, the Planning Inspector Mr Andrew Phillipson sent a report to the Secretary of State, (who is responsible for making the final decision), recommending that the appeal be dismissed. The Secretary of State has now accepted his recommendation.

St Albans City and District Council budgeted £800,000 towards the costs involved, but it has only had to provide £394,000 in defence of the appeal. In planning inquiries, government guidance is that parties are normally expected to meet their own costs. Costs are only awarded where one party is considered to have acted unreasonably. The costs incurred were significantly less than the initial estimate that the inquiry might cost the council up to £1M.