THE demand for railfreight depots in the South-East has been largely met since the last inquiry by two major developments, undermining Helioslough's case, Strife's barrister has argued.
Cross-examining the company's planning consultant Richard Tilley, Mr Stinchcombe said: “Since the last inquiry, planning permission has been granted for Howbury Park in south-east London.
“Planning permission has also been granted for Shell Haven.
“Together those two developments amount to more than a million square metres of rail-related warehouses.”
Mr Tilley replied: “Howbury Park is rail-related, but Shell Haven is port-related.
“The policy requirement is three to four SRFIs. There is no specific capacity.
“Even if Howbury Park and Shell Haven were two, that still leaves a third.”
Howbury Park was recently given planning permission after a public inquiry, possibly creating an important precedent for Helioslough as the location is Green Belt and the arguments used to justify it very similar.
Shell Haven is a warehouse development on a former oil refinery on the north bank of the Thames.
It is also known as London Gateway, not to be confused with Thames Gateway, another port-related warehouse development in Essex.
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