THE number of lorry movements for the railfreight depot, if it is built, must be linked to the number of trains, Strife's barrister Paul Stinchcombe has told the inquiry.

Concluding his closing statement, he told the inspector his proposed condition was crucial to ensure the depot did not evolve into a pure road-to -road warehouse complex.

He said: “It does not prevent the development going ahead exactly as promoted – it facilitates it.

“There is nothing whatsoever in that condition for Helioslough to fear, provided the confidence they invite you to repose in their rail cae is well-placed.

“If Helioslough object, it can only be because they have no confidence in their rail case.

“If they have no confidence in their own case, then neither should you or the Secretary of State.

“I respectfully ask, on behalf of the beleaguered communities it represents, that this appeal be dismissed and the Trojan horse be expelled in terms that prevent it ever returning.

“The local community demands no less and so does the balance of the evidence you have heard.

“This is no location for an SRFI and this valued part of Green Belt land should ever be protected from the huge road-based depot that this development would inevitably become."

The inquiry adjourned for the crowd to disperse after his statement, but will soon hear the council barrister Matthew Reed summarise his case.