THE railfreight inquiry is bogged down in a morass of detail as the barristers debate what planning conditions could be imposed on the project.

After half an hour's debate this morning, inspector Andy Mead observed : “We are only on Condition Three – there are several pages of them.

“We haven't even got to the substance yet.”

Mr Mead has three different maps spread across his desk, two of the lawyers ore tapping at laptops and papers are strewn across seven tables, with dossiers of evidence stacked in piles of ever-increasing height.

The crowd which crammed the council chamber for the start of the inquiry has not surprisingly shrunk considerably, but a handful of members of the public are still making a token effort to follow the labarynthine debate.

The barristers are now discussing whether the words “without the written approval of Hertfordshire County Council” should be inserted into a condition dealing with the road improvements suggested by Helioslough, and whether references to the Highways Agency can be deleted.

Mr Mead pointed out: “There are two references to the Highways Agency – in blue and in black.

“Which one have we agreed can be deleted?”