Hertfordshire County Council set to sell land
To make way for a new St Albans rail freight terminal.
Last updated 14th Dec 2022
Hertfordshire County Council is set to sell land to make way for a new St Albans rail freight terminal.
The council’s cabinet met in Hertford on Monday, December 12 where they agreed staff could sell land to SEGRO – a FTSE 100 company which already has planning permission to build the unit.
The terminal would sit on the former Radlett Airfield between the M25 motorway and A414 North Orbital Road in the Park Street area, with a rail link to the Midland Main Line between Kentish Town and Derby.
A petition urging the council to ask the public for their views before making a sale was launched on December 3 and has since garnered more than 1,180 signatures.
During a cabinet debate, council leader Richard Roberts (Con, Kings Langley) said: “We did not seek this development.
“We did not seek a rail freight terminal on this site and we did not encourage it.
“The planning considerations have been considered and the only outstanding matter is that we meet our fiduciary duty towards our residents, in other words, we secure the best price for this land.”
Cllr Roberts said county council leaders and St Albans City and District Council had previously supported using the site for a residential garden community rather than a rail freight terminal.
Councillor Bob Deering (Con, Hertford St Andrews), responsible for resources and performance at the council, said selling the land would give the council a capital receipt which could be used for future projects.
He said: “We are quite clear about the financial challenges here at Hertfordshire County Council and the economic conditions at the moment.”
Cllr Deering added: “The crucial thing we have to face up to is that planning permission has been granted by a secretary of state.
“That was a decision which, at the time, we spoke out against.”
The final vote – taken by cabinet members on December 12 – gives officers the power to “dispose” of the land to SEGRO at a later date.
Council officers must sell the land for more than a specified – but secret – figure.
Cabinet members agreed the authority must take all “reasonable” steps to ensure SEGRO does not breach its planning conditions..
The online petition calling for a consultation remains open (https://bit.ly/3j2FQHJ) and is entitled: “No decision on the sale of the Park Street green belt should be taken until full public consultation has taken place.”
At a previous meeting, SEGRO’s managing director of national logistics Andrew Pilsworth said the scheme would bring with it environmental benefits.
He said: “We take our obligations very seriously and make sure we stick to them.
“National strategic benefits – the secretary of state granted planning permission in 2014 as part of a government policy to promote a national network of strategic rail freight interchanges.
“The objectives of this network are to shift freight from road to rail, to reduce traffic congestion and carbon emissions.
“Each train takes 76 lorries off our roads, and CO2 emissions are 76 per cent lower than they are on road for every tonne-mile.