“It’s immensely disappointing that Herts County Council is proposing to agree the sale of the land it owns, and it’s a damning indictment of the Conservative government’s approach to local democracy and our greenbelt.”
St Albans MP Daisy Cooper has described news that the Conservative-led county council is to formally decide whether to sell land in Park Street that would enable the build of the government-imposed Strategic Rail Freight Interchange (SRFI) as a “damning indictment” of the government’s approach to local democracy and our greenbelt.
She has also written to Hertfordshire County Council to demand that residents’ voices are heard before the final decision is taken.
Last week, Herts County Council formally proposed selling land it owns to SEGRO, the developers of the proposed SRFI. A vote on that decision will happen on 1 December.
Since she was elected in 2019, Daisy first set out her opposition to the interchange in Parliament, in her maiden speech, where she described how “a significant chunk of our green belt is at risk from the monstrosity of a rail and lorry freight terminal.”
In September 2020, she secured a Westminster Hall debate specifically about the SRFI, where she appealed to the Conservative government Minister to change its position. In another debate about planning in the greenbelt, she raised the issue again in relation to housing targets.
Daisy said: “This issue began almost 9 years ago in 2014, when the designation of this site for a Strategic Rail Freight Interchange was made by the Conservative government, and specifically the former Housing Secretary of State, now Lord Eric Pickles.
“This means that the traffic alterations were approved eight years ago – and a lot has changed since then. I wrote to National Highways and Herts County Council in February this year to ask them to review these traffic alterations.
“I also asked the housing minister if he would hold discussions with the county council on the idea of the land being developed to support community initiatives or facilitate local regeneration – but the Conservative government has been clear that they made their decision on a freight terminal in 2014 and are sticking by it.”
As the land was approved for a strategic infrastructure project in 2014, it can’t be designated in the new Local Plan for any other purpose. This means that if the developers decide that they no longer want to pursue the building of a freight terminal, then the land would revert to be designated greenbelt. Any plans to build on it would be subject to the same stringent tests in terms of reducing the damage of any development to greenbelt land.
Daisy continues: “It’s immensely disappointing that Herts County Council is proposing to agree the sale of the land it owns, and it’s a damning indictment of the Conservative government’s approach to local democracy and our greenbelt.
“As well as opposing the plans outright, I’ve been working hard to do what I can to mitigate the potential effects, should this go ahead – including meeting with SEGRO and securing a commitment from them to establish a residents consultative group.
“Just last week, I wrote to Herts County Council to reiterate my opposition to the rail freight terminal, and to demand that residents are given the opportunity to speak directly to the decision makers about their concerns, that residents who want to attend the meeting can, and that assurances are sought from SEGRO in advance of decisions being made about fulfilling their obligations to road improvements.
Park Street councillor Nuala Webb, who actively opposes the SRFI, says: “If the County Council decide to sell this land to the developers, it will be a huge blow to Park Street, Harperbury and Napsbury residents. Residents here are incredibly frustrated with this recent news, and I share their concerns.
“But it’s not just Park Street and the surrounding areas that this will affect – this will mean gridlock between the M1 and A1M and all roads around. It brings no benefits to our communities.
“I’ll be continuing to work both with residents and other active groups to try and make this clear to SEGRO. It’s now or never.”