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Railfreight

RAIL FREIGHT APPLICATION BY HELIOSLOUGH

Helioslough are once again seeking permission for a Strategic Rail Freight Interchange in the open Green Belt on the former Radlett Aerodrome site.

Their first application was submitted in 2007, refused by St Albans District Council  and refused again upon appeal). 

Helioslough's second application was refused by SADC on 20th July 2009.   They have now appealed, and the appeal will begin on 24th November 2009.


CLICK HERE TO SEE WHAT YOU CAN DO NOW TO OBJECT
TO THIS DAMAGING PROPOSAL.

HERTS ADVERTISER JOINS CAMPAIGN - CLICK HERE TO SEE COVERAGE - CLICK HERE TO SEE OUR LETTER TO HERTS ADVERTISER
 


St Albans Civic Society has demonstrated its complete opposition to the scheme by commissioning a special poster for the City Station. 

Read our Press Release of 29th May 2009 at foot of this page,

To view the poster, you will need Adobe reader.  To get it click on the icon to the right 

FORMER RAILMAN ERIC ROBERTS SAYS :-

The loss of the view of the cathedral from the train symbolises the impact the rail depot will have on the whole of St Albans - more congestion and pollution caused by this inappropriate development in the Green Belt.

I believe that the proposed freightliner trains cannot be reliably fitted into the timetables for the already busy main line.  If the trains come by night, this will cause more noise and light pollution, and hamper essential track maintenance and repairs.  During the day they will present pathing problems, and risk delay to the passenger services - the last thing commuters and other rail users want! 

There are also loading gauge restrictions on the route which will limit the number of containers carried per train.  This could make freight by train less viable, leading to more juggernaut lorries being used to service the depot.  In other words, we end up with a rail freight depot in name only. 

Please note: the planning application already seeks parking for up to 1602 cars and 617 lorries!

HAVE YOU QUERIES OR COMMENTS?


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Contact Us, leave us your email address, and we shall endeavour to help you.

 NB

The Society fully supports STRIFE, the local action group in Park Street , who campaigned so effectively against the Helioslough proposal last time round, and are doing exactly the same this time.

Their website is www.strife.biz

 

Press Release issued 20 May 2009 CIVIC SOCIETY TAKES TO THE RAILS

To help the campaign against the proposed railfreight terminal by Helioslough, St Albans Civic Society has commissioned a special poster. This is being displayed at three sites at the City Station.
The poster draws attention to the existing view of the Cathedral from the train. It illustrates how this will disappear behind 20 metre tall sheds if the development is allowed to proceed. This is emblematic of the adverse impact the railfreight depot will have on the Cathedral City's environment, and the lives of residents.

The aim of the campaign is to encourage the thousands commuters and other travellers who use the station to engage in the planning process, and to object to the application.

The Society believes that rail travellers need not only to consider the effect on the city where they live, but also the effect on their passenger train service. Frequent additional freight train movements have the potential to disrupt an already busy line, with a complicated timetable. The consequence could be more train delays.

Chairman Peter Trevelyan says “This is a first for the Society. It is a direct attempt to communicate with the thousands of commuters and people who use and visit the station. Residents have a lot to lose if the scheme goes ahead no matter where they live in or around St Albans”.

The Council is expected to register the application within the next few days. Details on what to do and how to get more information can be obtained from the Society's website: www.stalbanscivicsociety.com


 Keep an eye on our website - and STRIFE's - for further news and developments