Strife witness: "How will railfreight cope with road gridlock?" (From St Albans & Harpenden Review)

Strife witness: "How will railfreight cope with road gridlock?"

11:24am Tuesday 1st December 2009

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THE inspector who almost granted Helioslough's first appeal was given flawed evidence on several key points, a local resident has told the inquiry.

Campaign group Strife's second witness Douglas Hirst, a retired local government worker who lives in the area, has submitted detailed evidence on traffic, rail issues, the impact on homes, and plannning policy.

He said: “The first inspector said that traffic congestion is commonplace in the South-East.

“But these roads are some of the busiest in the county.

“When there is an accident on the M25 or M1, there is not just congestion, but gridlock.

“How are lorries going to get in and out of the railfreight terminal when there is gridlock?”

He said that the traffic impact of Butterfly World , and a conference centre/hotel planned on the A405, had not been properly considered in the first inquiry.

Mr Hirst also cast doubt on the practicality of the terminal, arguing that its access to the national rail network was limited and there was insufficient space on the rail line for freight and passenger trains.

He said: “We are talking about the destruction of 180 acres of Green Belt land, on the basis that it might or might not be viable in rail terms.”

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