05th Jan 2010. STRiFE have just heard that the Decision on the Inquiry into the Appeal, by the Secretary of State, will be issued on or before 23rd June 2010.We will of course, keep you updated with any information that we receive. Many thanks for your continued support!

22nd December 2009: STRiFE would like to thank everyone for the enormous amount of support that we have received during the course of the Public Inquiry which concluded on Friday 18th December! Please read complete press release.

23d November 2009:  STRiFE are urging everyone to attend the first day of the Public Inquiry into the Proposal for a Strategic Rail Freight Interchange on the former Radlett Aerodrome site, south of St Albans.  It will start at 10am at the Council Offices in St Peters Street, St Albans, on Tuesday 24 November 2009.  Please be there to show the Inspector just how much opposition there is to this monstrous development on our Green Belt land.  Please meet outside the Council offices at 9.30 where we will hold a demonstration.

The Council, Helioslough and STRiFE will be issuing our Opening Statements in the morning, and this will be webcast.  It is a PUBLIC Inquiry, and the public are allowed to attend throughout the 4 weeks, held Tuesday to Friday 10 – 5.  Please do come along on Tuesday and at any time and show your support to STRiFE.

STRIFE has submitted its Proof of Evidence to Planning Inspectorate on 28 October 2009.

Opposite to the initially distributed information the Pre Inquiry Meeting on 8 October 2009 is NOT public.  Apologies for the confusion.

If you wish to pass your objections to this monstrous proposal you should submit them by 30September 2009 the latest: and quote reference APP/B1930/A/09/2109433/NWF  

Lary Heyman, Integration and Partnership Manager at First Capital connect is coming to speak to the Civic Society on the subject "The Thameslink Programme and the Threat from the proposed Rail Freight Interchange"   The venue is Cross Street Centre (upstairs room) next to the Dagnal Street Baptist Church in St Albans on Wednesday 23 September 2009 at 8pm.  Please come to find out more facts about the impact of the Interchange on First Capital Connect and share your views!

11 Sept 2009 following decision of Secretary of State SADC has scheduled a Pre Inquiry Meeting on 8th October at 10am.  The purpose of the meeting is to discuss matters including the inquiry start date, inquiry duration and the periods for submission of evidence. 

10 Sept 2009 In exercise of its powers the Secretary of State has directed that they shall determine the appeal. That means that instead of writing a decision, the Inspector appointed by Secretary of State, will prepare a report. The Planning Inspectorate has proposed 24 November as a starting date for the Public Inquiry into the scheme. It is scheduled to sit for 16 days. Helioslough are trying to rush this appeal through because they are worried that a potential change in Government next year would lead to a change in policy.  We believe this is too important an issue to be rushed through and all pertinent evidence must be taken into account. 

15 Aug 2009 following the 20 July meeting Helioslough refused to accept the decision of the Council and the wishes of local people. Their spokesperson, Simon Hoare, has confirmed that the developer will appeal against the decision.

20 July 2009: The second planning application for the development of a Strategic Rail Freight Interchange (SRFI), submitted to the Council by Helioslough Ltd, was considered by the Planning Referrals Committee, at the Alban Arena in St Albans on Monday 20th July 2009 at 7pm. At the meeting the estimated 350 people who came to the Alban Arena, and the 100 plus who watched the committee on the internet, heard that the Committee refused the application for fourteen reasons, which have been summarised below – the full version is available on the report on the website – see link:Full Text of Refusal  an abbreviated text could be viewed here.

A mini demo was held outside the Alban Arena from 6.30pm.  Thank you very much all supporters for your letters of objection and participation!  Thank you very much Herts Advertiser for great coverage of the campaign.

Hertsmere Borough Council held a meeting of their Planning Referrals Committee dealing with the proposed railfreight terminal on Wednesday 15th July.  It was determined that Hertsmere would write to St Albans District Council with various objections to the scheme in time for SADC to consider before their ultimate determination of the proposal due on Monday 20th July (see above).  Hertsmere also undertook to assist SADC in any subsequent appeal should there be one.

STRiFE held a demo on Saturday 11th July outside the Alban Arena in St Albans.  Speaking at this were STRiFE Campaign Co-ordinator, Cathy Bolshaw, together with Sandy Walkington, Roma Mills and Anne Main MP.  Up to 300 people turned out to support our campaign and we have since received good coverage in the Herts Advertiser.  Many thanks to all who turned out.

05 June 2009: Downing Street 10 on-line petition has been set up, please join http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/StopRailFreight

The meeting on 29.05.2009 has proved to be a real success - more than 40 people turned up including representatives of main political parties.

 29.05.2009. The Herts Ad want to do a photo of some supporters on Tuesday 2nd June, at 3pm. Meet at the entrance to the site on the A414, on the slip road where the lorries park up, just before Hedges Farm.  Please come and join!                                           

23.05.2009 NOW IS THE TIME TO WRITE! Don’t Delay! Write today! (until Wednesday June 17 2009)

 STRiFE understands that St Albans District Council has now registered a new application for a Strategic Rail Freight Interchange, on the former Radlett Aerodrome, just south of St Albans.  The developer, HelioSlough, submitted another application just before Easter, even though the previous one was rejected by the Secretary of State last year.

We need everyone to write to the Council with their objections against this monstrous industrial development on our Green Belt land.  Objections can include things like loss of Green Belt land, traffic, noise, air and light pollution and the lack of a local workforce.  Please try and make it personal to how it would affect you e.g. taking children to school, going shopping or getting to work.

You MUST quote the planning application number which is 5/2009/0708 in all correspondence for it to be counted.

Please send your letters to:

The Planning Dept,

St Albans District Council

Civic Centre

St Peters Street

St Albans,  AL1 3JE

Please also send a copy of your letter to Anne Main MP, at House of Commons, London, SW1A OAA.

If you live in Radlett, or in the Hertsmere Borough, please send a letter to:

The Planning Dept,

Civic Offices, Elstree Way

Borehamwood

Herts, WD6 1WA

Please also send a copy of your letter to your MP, James Clappison MP, House of Commons, London, SW1A OAA

Letters need to be sent in to the Council within the next 6 weeks, i.e. the end of June to be counted. 

Don’t Delay! Write today!

As a way of counting our voices please send a quick email to web@strife.biz with a subject: "objection sent to St Albans" or "objection sent to Borehamwood

http://www.stalbans.gov.uk/environment-and-planning/planning/planning-applications/planning-applications-search.aspx  application number 5/2009/0708

St Albans District Council has decided to accept for consideration the application for a proposed Strategic Rail Freight Interchange on the former Radlett Aerodrome site, just south of St Albans. The developer, HelioSlough, submitted yet another application just before Easter, having had their first one rejected last year, by the Secretary of State.

This does not mean that the Council have decided to grant planning consent but it is the first stage in the determination process. The next stage is for the Council formally to register the application, when it will be given a planning reference number.

As soon as this has been done, we will need EVERYONE to write in with their objections to the scheme. We will let you know the reference number and the addresses to write to. You can also do this by email.

Reasons for objecting to this massive warehousing development can include traffic, loss of Green Belt, noise, air, and light pollution and the lack of a local workforce as well as anything else that you consider personal to how it would affect you e.g. taking children to school, shopping or getting to work, etc.

Everyone who travels anywhere, south of St Albans WILL be affected by this;

Everyone who travels, or works in the centre of St Albans WILL be affected by this;

Everyone who travels within a 10 mile radius of the site, WILL be affected by this.

STRiFE will be speaking at the Chiswell Green Residents Association AGM tomorrow - Monday 18th May at the United Reformed Church, Watford Road, Chiswell Green at 8pm.

NEW APPLICATION SUBMITTED

05 May 2009. HelioSlough have submitted a new application for a Strategic Rail Freight Interchange on the Former Radlett Aerodrome site, to St Albans District Council, just before Easter. As STRiFE have pointed out before, the Council have a legal option to refuse to accept a planning application if it is "substantially the same" as one that has been refused at appeal, if the new application is re-submitted within 2 years. It appears that this may be the case, and therefore the Council are looking at their various legal options right now. We await their decision, which we should know within the next couple of weeks.

STRiFE will then decide what action to take on the basis of the Council’s decision. We thank the public for their continued support against this proposed monstrous development on our Green Belt land. Please don't write in to the Council now, as your letter will not be counted. We will let you know when and if you need to write.

DEVELOPER HOLDS PUBLIC CONSULTATION

 On March 13th and 14th at The Noke Hotel in Chiswell Green, HelioSlough held their public consultation relating to their proposed planning application for a Strategic Rail Freight Interchange (SRFI) on the site of the former Radlett Aerodrome at Park Street.

 As an applicant for a major development proposal, HelioSlough are obliged to demonstrate to the Local Planning Authority that they have undertaken appropriate public consultation prior to submitting their planning application.

 The consultation itself was well attended by members of the public, though many commented that the location selected was inconvenient and inaccessible by public transport.  STRiFE estimate that in excess of 800 people passed through over the course of the two days.

 What did we learn from this consultation exercise?

 ·                Helioslough were expecting to submit their new application by the end of March.  Here we are at the beginning of April and no application yet.  We suspect it may come the Thursday before Easter.

 ·                The scheme itself is to be physically identical to the previous one in all details – the size of the warehouses, the access arrangements, the rail link, even the so-called “Country Park”.

 ·                The only new item within the application is to be a revised Alternative Sites Assessment (ASA).  This was where the previous application fell down at the Public Inquiry.

 ·                The new ASA is clearly intended to show that the site of the former Radlett Aerodrome is the best available to fulfil the need for a SRFI.

 The next steps we see are:

 ·                Clearly, we await receipt of the planning application itself so we can examine the new ASA and ensure that, as the developer maintained at the consultation, nothing else has indeed changed with the scheme.

 ·                The Local Planning Authority, depending upon the exact nature of the application, may choose to apply part of planning legislation that would allow them to refuse to register this new application.  Such a move would most likely be challenged by the developer and its validity would be determined in court.  If the court were to uphold the Local Planning Authority’s position, then no new application for such a scheme would be allowed until October 2010, being 2 years following the initial refusal by the Secretary of State.

 ·                Once the application is registered, there will be a 16 week period until the Local Planning Authority must determine the application, either granting or refusing consent for the scheme.

 ·                If the latter, then it is likely that the developer will seek a further appeal and ultimately a further Public Inquiry will follow.

 As and when the planning application is submitted, we will be in touch once more.

 Clearly, STRiFE now have to redouble their efforts and we will be working hard on lobbying, PR and building our new case against the latest application.  It may be that this next battle is to be fought over quite narrow and technical grounds.  In this case, although it enables us to be more focused, it places greater need on the requirement for further professional assistance.  For this, we obviously rely entirely on financial support from within the local community so please do help as much you can and do tell those who think that this proposal had disappeared that it is back.

 Unsurprisingly, the latest publicity for the scheme has seen a resurgence of support for STRiFE.  As ever, we are indebted to our supporters who provide us with the encouragement and financial wherewithal to continue with our campaign.

 Many thanks for your continued support.

 STRiFE

November 2008

Helioslough, the developer behind the Strategic Railfreight proposals on the former Radlett Aerodrome, has recently stated its intention to submit a fresh outline planning application. We imagine that this will be for a development of a similar nature, size and scale as the last proposal. Helioslough envisage this new application being submitted to St Albans District Council in early 2009.

You may well wonder how this can happen so soon after their earlier proposal was rejected by the Secretary of State. While it was indeed rejected, the grounds for this decision were narrowed down to the failure of the developer to demonstrate that there were no other better alternative sites where a SRFI could be developed. Helioslough are therefore going to undertake a fresh alternative site study and try their luck once more.

You will no doubt be as dismayed at this turn of events as we are at STRiFE. You can be assured that we are already on the case and working to develop our strategy against this fresh application so we can be ready for it as and when it is submitted. We are of course hopeful that this second application can be defeated as was the first. To do this will require the continued support from the local. We were delighted with the support received last year which enabled us to present a strong case at the Public Inquiry which ultimately produced a seemingly successful outcome when the appeal by the developer was rejected.

Unfortunately, the developer is proving nothing but persistent so we regret that we find ourselves once again calling for yet more support.

This can come in the form of help with delivering leaflets, doing research (email us at info@strife.biz or call our Campaign Co-ordinator, Cathy Bolshaw on 07710 327969) or indeed cash donations (see Sponsorship).

It would be easy to become disheartened at this news but we remain convinced that this proposal CAN yet be fought off once and for all.

As ever, many thanks for your continued interest and support.

2nd October 2008:

The Secretary of State has today finally confirmed the decision on the proposed railfreight terminal at Radlett Aerodrome and STRiFE is delighted to announce that the appeal has been REFUSED.

This has been a long drawn out campaign for us and we cannot thank our team members and supporters enough for their unstinting efforts (and donations) to see this scheme off.

January 2008: waiting

The seven week long Planning Inspectorate inquiry into the Radlett railfreight proposal finished in December. The final decision by the Government is expected on or before 3rd October 2008 and the expectation is that the Appeal Inspector’s recommendation to the Secretary of State may be as early as March.

The East of England had accepted the need for one strategic rail freight interchange. Since that decision was taken, the Bexley and Shellhaven developments- two in the East of England- have been approved. Will the Secretary of State bear that in mind when the Planning Inspectorate’s decision comes before her in respect of granting or not granting such a development in Radlett in my constituency? We do not need it accessed from our busy roads. We have more than sufficient capacity, given the two decisions that have been made since the application was made.” – 22nd January 2008

The Government believes it requires three to four railfreight interchanges around the London area but these two decisions must surely remove any argument by developers for a further site in the East of England Quadrant.

The Inspector was left in no doubt at the inquiry by STRIFE, the Council, and all of us who oppose the plan, that this is the wrong proposal, in the wrong place, and we expect the Government to listen, and I will keep fighting until a decision is made.

20 December 2007 The Rail Freight Planning inquiry comes to a close

The Rail Freight planning inquiry to consider the appeal by HelioSlough, against the refusal by the District Council’s Planning Referrals Committee of their planning application for a Rail Freight Terminal in February 2007, ended on Thursday 20 December 2007.

There was a webcast covering the last two days of the inquiry and Wednesday’s webcast was watched live on 31 PCs, with 45 viewings of the archived webcast. Thursday’s webcast was watched live on 55 PCs.

The webcast of the inquiry for 6th November was viewed live on 276 PCs and the archived webcast has since been viewed 415 times, totalling 691 viewings. The webcast for 7th November was viewed live on 149 PCs and the archived webcast has since been viewed by 126 PCs, totalling 275 viewings.

The council chamber was full when Strife made their closing address on the afternoon of Wednesday 19th December.

These webcasts can be viewed live from the comfort of your home, by going to www.stalbans.ukcouncil.net/site. There is an online help and FAQ page if you experience problems with the webcast: www.stalbans.ukcouncil.net/site/help.php.

They will remain in the archives for six months after the inquiry has ended.

There is also a Rail Freight link from the home page of the council’s website www.stalbans.gov.uk, which will have related information.

After completion of the inquiry the Planning Inspector will send a report with his recommendation to the Secretary of State who will make the final decision. Anyone wanting a copy of the decision on the appeal should request this by writing to the Planning Inspector at the:-

Planning Inspectorate, Room 4/04 Kite, Temple Quay House, 2 The Square, Temple Quay. Bristol BS1 6PN

Quote reference: APP/B1930//07/2045747/NWF

21st November Railfreight Inquiry Draws To A Close

Last week saw the closing statements of all the key parties, namely First Capital Connect, STRiFE, St Albans District Council and developer, Helioslough being presented to the Inquiry. We have been told that these statements are to be put on the SADC webcast at http://www.stalbans.ukcouncil.net/site/player/pl_compact.php?a=10778&t=0&m=wm&l=en_GB but this may not now be until after the Christams break.

All three of the objecting parties put forward strong and compelling reasons for the appeal to be dismissed while, in our eyes at least, the developer failed to put forward any material case to the contrary.

This now concludes the public part of the Inquiry with only a few small matters of administration to be tied up in early January. The Inspector will then compile his report to the Secretary of State who will ultimately decide which way the appeal will go. We at STRiFE have been delighted with the way the Inquiry has gone and feel that we were able to make a real impact with the Inspector in terms of putting across the strength and depth of local feeling against this monstrous proposal.

It only remains for us to thank ALL who have helped us in our efforts, either financially or in giving up their time. I would personally like to thank those individuals who put themselves forward to present evidence to the Inquiry on STRiFE's behalf and endured at some points quite aggressive cross examination from the developer's legal team. None had had any experience of this before and without exception, all came through with great aplomb.

We now have to endure a painful wait until the Secretary of State's decision is announced, currently expected in early summer, when of course we will let you know the outcome.

Thank you all and Happy Christmas.

19th December. All final closing statements from Wednesday 2pm and all day Thursday will be webcast. please follow the link http://www.stalbans.ukcouncil.net/site/

15 December 2007

After more than six weeks of hearing of evidence and cross examination, the Inquiry into the proposed railfreight interchange on the site of the former Radlett Aerodrome is now drawing to a close. Next week will see some of the final witnesses appearing on behalf of the developer, Helioslough, followed by their cross examination. This will then be shortly followed by the closing statements. This is the opportunity for the parties to the Inquiry (Helioslough, St Albans District Council, First Capital Connect and STRiFE) to draw together all the various strands of evidence and cross examination heard through the course of the last few weeks into a final cohesive and persuasive statement to the Inspector.

We at STRiFE have been delighted to date with the performance of our barrister, Paul Stinchcombe, but are sure that he will have saved the best until last. Paul has advised us that the strength of argument contained in the Closing Statement can be very material to the Inspector's ultimate decision as to whether to recommend grant or refusal of planning consent. We of course remain firmly optimistic that enough has been said by the objecting parties through the course of the Inquiry to win over the Inspector to our way of thinking. However, we still dare not let the small successes to date go to our heads. We feel it would give a tremendous boost at this final hurdle if as many local people as possible could turn up at the Inquiry to hear STRiFE's closing statement. STRiFE is only too aware of how many feel strongly about this but we want to ensure that we leave the Inspector in no doubt that the local populace is passionate about protecting this Green Belt site, avoiding the violation of the historic City of St Albans and seeing this monstrous scheme off once and for all.

As the programme sits just now, STRiFE's closing statement is due to be heard on WEDNESDAY 19TH DECEMBER in the afternoon. First Capital Connect are due on first at 2pm followed by STRiFE. For those who have not been to any part of the Inquiry to date, it is held in the Council Chamber at the District Council Offices, St Peter's Street, St Albans. Throughout the Inquiry, we have seen many changes of programme, often at quite short notice. If there is any change to the timing of STRiFE's closing statement, we will try to send around a further email and have details on our website at www.strife.biz .

Finally, thank you to all who have given their generous support to the STRiFE team throughout this campaign, whether in terms of money or time. We have needed lots of both and would have been nowhere without it.

STRiFE.

17th November 2007.  "Thanks to our brilliant witnesses today, we made 3 BIG HITS! All three did really well, and made a huge IMPACT with the Inspector, to the extent that the Inspector asked the Appellants barrister to stop questioning, twice! This just showed that we were well informed, and produced our evidence well, and our witnesses were, without question, brilliant under cross examination. Our barrister Paul Stinchcombe, who is excellent is returning tomorrow for our "strategic rail" evidence," which will again be very interesting. Paul was extremely happy , how today went ."  If you have already donated to STRiFE, you have our deepest thanks. If you have previously wavered over it, we implore you to act now to help preserve this Green Belt site and avoid the catastrophic impact this development would bring with it.         Our bank account details are as follows: Account Name - Strife Limited - Account No. 22031051 Bank & Branch - HSBC, 31 Chequers Street, St. Albans Sort Code 40-40-01 alternatively please click on Sponsorship page

 Public Inquiry into the appeal by the developers, Helioslough, will open at 10:00 am on  Tuesday  6 November 2007 in the Council Chamber, District Council Offices, St Albans.  The inquiry is scheduled to last for 32 days.  follow the link to check St Albans District Council latest news    The Planning Inquiry will commence at 10.00 am on Tuesday 6 November 2007 at the Disctrict Council Offices, St Peter's Street, St Albans. The Inquiry will also be webcast to the Committee Rooms in the Council Offices and the Baptist Church in Upper Dagnall Street on the opening two days.

 Almost a year ago the Council rejected the developer’s application but they have decided to appeal the Council’s decision. Therefore, the appeal will now be heard by Planning Inspectorate who has the power to overturn the original decision by the Council and grant planning permission for this would-be blight on St Albans.

St Albans remains united in its opposition to this huge terminal and STRIFE urges all local residents to attend the public meetings that will be held over the 32 days of the inquiry.  Please read regularly information updates on this site and participate in actions. 

Every fighter counts!

Please sign the petition on Government site: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/STRIFE/

October 4th ITV documentary  On Thursday 4th October, STRiFE was invited to assist in the making of an ITV documentary ( to be viewed in November sometime, we think - to be confirmed) about local democracy and is it working?  They were exploring the view that local people such as us and our local council have voted against a proposal for inappropriate development on the Green Belt, and yet, when the developers lodge an Appeal, we - the local Council have to pay for a Public Inquiry.  Then, even though the Inspector could recommend refusal, the Secretary of State could overturn this. Kevin Fitzgerald from the CPRE was also interviewed.
 
STRiFE organised a demo where between 50-60 people attended on the entrance to the former Radlett aerodrome site on the A414, and invited the local press to attend too.  Thank you to all who attended this, it was a great turnout.   The TV crew then filmed the airfield site, and the views to St Albans Abbey along with the grazing sheep and horses, that would all be lost if this monstrous development were to be allowed.  Along with this they also filmed views over the open space that the former Airfield generates and the footpaths and bridleways that would be lost forever.

19 July 2007 at 8pm Public Meeting in Radlett. 

At the Radlett United Synagogue, 22 Watling Street, Radlett (the former Village Hall).  The possibility of the Radlett Rail Freight Interchange is BIGGER than ever! Helioslough Ltd have lodged an Appeal to the Secretary of State, and a Public Inquiry will be held at the end of the year.

20th of June 2007. Please see BBC London news broadcast 6pm

16 June 2007 Public Meeting at Alban Arena.  More than 200 local residents and borough council members gathered to demonstrate their support to share ideas. Attendees included: Anne Main (MP), Sandy Walkington (SADC), Rloma Mills (SADC), James Clappison (SADC), Robert Donald (SADC). 

Please see pictures 

 St Albans Review

The developers have now lodged their appeal so, as STRiFE expected, we are now moving towards a Public Inquiry.

10th June Half-Maraphone in support of STRIF: Patricia Pryce ran in the St. Albans Half-Marathon.  The proceeds went to the British Heart Foundation and STRIFE (with the agreement of the STRIFE Committee).  Thank you very much for your support! 

17 May 2007 appeal lodged by developer.  On 17th May 2007 HelioSlough lodged a formal appeal with the Planning Inspectorate against St Albans District Council's decision to refuse the proposal for a railfreight interchange site.  HelioSlough and the Planning Inspectorate have also confirmed that an appeal is now proceeding.  We need to get around our banners once more!

19th December 2006. Decision of SADC!  STRiFE welcomes the decision of the Planning Referrals Committee of St Albans City and District Council to refuse Helioslough’s application to build a Strategic Rail Freight Interchange (SRFI) on the Former Radlett Aerodrome immediately to the South of the city!  Congratulations!  The STRiFE Team would like to thank everyone who turned up at the Alban Arena last night to hear the Planning Referrals Committee come to their decision. It was a fine example of local democracy in action and a clear signal that people are becoming increasingly concerned about the threats to our City and its environs. However, this is only the first skirmish in a longer battle. Going into the future we hope to retain the support of all those who have encouraged and assisted us over the past eight months.  Have a look at the complete report.

Saturday Market Stall at St Albans Market on Saturday 17th December06. It proved to be a success with 860 signatures added to our ever expanding list.  Thank you very much to all participants, supporters and organisers!
 

Demo in St Albans on 23rd December proved very successful.  Business cards have been handed out along with approx 200 balloons which looked great with kids wandering through the town centre. White balloons with "Rudolph not Rail Freight Terminal!" in red and our website! More signatures on the petition too.                   

13 December 2006.  Highways Agency have reported back to SADC (St Albans District Council) recommending refusal!

STRiFE Christmas Social.  Open meeting for all who concerned about STRIFE took place on Monday 11th December, 8-11pm, Greenwood Park Leisure Centre, Tippendell Lane, Chiswell Green. Lots of people were able to meet one another, and we raised £235 + £200 in donations.

10th December 2006 Fundraising in Farmers' Market, St Albans This was very successful, spreading the word, we distributed about 750 leaflets and got about 750 signatures on the petition, and £101 was collected towards the cause!

ANOTHER STEP FORWARD!

At the meeting at St Albans District Council held on 1st November 2006 The Planning Referral Committee voted unanimously to accept their officers recommendation “that the committee should indicate that at the present time they are minded to refuse the application and that a further report be considered once the views of the Highway Agency are received”

The Highway Agency have stopped St Albans District Council making a decision on this application. They require further information from Helioslogh regarding the impact on the local motorway intersections of the traffic generated by the rail freight Interchange. The Highway Agency are expected to complete their assessment by December 31st. On a more positive note, the committee have endorsed the 14 objections to the Helioslough application outlined by the officers.

Thanks everyone for lots of support this evening! Apart form 200 people in the council chambers, we had an outflow of 300 to a church 2 miles away that had been organised by the council. Then 250 were turned away at the door, but demanded to sign a petition, which was brought into and presented to the planning committee. So 700 supporters plus 50 meeting attendees. Also 500 were clocked as watching on the webcast, so 1200 in all!!

Please have a look at press release

30 October.  The London Colney parish council has submitted the objection to the planning proposal thus changing its view as previously they were in favour of the application.  Have a look.

The EERA - East of England Regional Assembly has recommended St Albans District Council to refuse the application.

The East of England Development Authority has recommended St Albans District Council to refuse the application.

Campaign to Protect Rural England - The Hertfordshire Society has joined the struggle against the Helioslough project.

A Parliamentary debate was held on 17 October 2006 in The House of Commons entitled "Development at the Former Aerodrome Site (Radlett)" where several constituencies came along joined by representatives of STRIFE and led by Anne Main local resident and MP.  The full transcript of the debates can be viewed here.

Hetrs County Council meeting on 17 October 2006.

A Development Control Meeting between Committee of Hertsmere Borough Council, Helioslough, STRIFE and local residents took place on 11 October 2006.  At the end of the meeting,  Hertsmere Borough Council has unanimously recommended to St Albans District Council refusal of application of Helioslough.

The Demo held on Saturday 7th October near Civic Offices in St Albans was a great success attracting attention not only of the officials but also of local industrial circles and activists of social life.  NOW WE KNOW - WE CAN DO IT!

Hertsmere Borough Council is undertaking a consultative exercise on the proposal. communication of the Hertsmere Borough Council

The Demo held on Saturday 7th October near Civic Offices in St Albans was a great success attracting attention not only of the officials but also of local businesses and other interest groups.

The Planning Application application was submitted on 27th July 2006.  It's number is 5/2006/1680.  If you want to object immediately please click here. You will be transferred to the planning application page of St Albans District Council.  Please enter the application number above into the field provided and click "Search".  The next page opened will allow you to view the application itself and to comment on it.             IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU LEAVE YOUR COMMENT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, please click on "You may send a comment on this application" button and leave you feedback to planning officers.

 Join the STRIFE campaign while it is not yet too late.

St Albans District Council have received over 1000 letters by 09.09.06 (latest count requested) but we still need more, many more, so if you haven't yet written, please do so NOW