Strife: "Railfreight terminal will be devastating" (From St Albans & Harpenden Review)

Strife: "Railfreight terminal will be devastating"

10:12am Tuesday 1st December 2009

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The proposed railfreight terminal would permanently ruin an attractive and well-loved rural area, a local resident is telling the inquiry.

With the district council now having called all its witnesses, campaign group Strife is putting its case today and tomorrow, starting with Adrian Wallace of Burydell Lane, Park Street.

He told the hearing that he had moved from London with his wife and baby daughter in March 2005, choosing to live in Toll Cottage because of its quiet location, surrounded by farmland.

He said: “I enjoy walking and jogging and take every opportunity I can to enjoy the immediate access to the countryside.

“My daughter's greatest joy is to be taken to see the horses, sheep and cows at Hedges Farm.

“The pleasures of the countryside is something I enjoy with countless other joggers, riders and walkers.

”The loss of a working farm would be devastating.”

He said that a footpath linking Burydell Lane with Hedges Farm was well used by walkers and gave excellent views of St Albans Cathedral.

The proposed country park, he said, would be “plastic and contrived” while the alternative footpath route suggested by Helioslough was too close to a road.

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