HELIOSLOUGH has called on a key figure in the railfreight industry to support its case for a large goods depot on the former Handley Page airfield.

Graham Smith, planning director of the UK arm of DB Schenker, Europe's largest railfreight company with 230,000 employees, was introduced with an impressive list of credentials including an MBE for work developing government transport strategy, 23 years' experience at the top of the industry and extensive contact with experts, engineering companies, other train operators and customers including major retail chains.

Stressing he had asked Helioslough to get involved with the project, he said: “Strategic railfreight interchanges are critical. It is in our commercial interests, but also in line with government policy.

“Radlett is a prime site.

“A significant size of depot is absolutely critical.

“That is what we have not had in the past and it is what we need in the future.

“Radlett is absolutely adjacent to the market.

“It is ideally situated to deliver goods to an extremely large percentage of the population, not just of the South East, but of the whole country.”