We’ve said it before, but we’ll say it again, if you really don’t want to see a ginormous rail freight depot being to the south of St Albans, then you have to make your opposition heard and sign the petition calling for a public debate on the sale of the land by Herts county council.

It’s no good sitting back and thinking that other people will do this for you, the number of people who have signed the petition is still worryingly short of the 10,000 name target, and every additional signature counts.

Without question, if it becomes a reality then this scheme will have a catastrophic effect on the district, and the Herts Advertiser has been fighting against the proposals for the best part of a decade, determined to do whatever we can to stop it from happening.

But we can’t do it alone, and we need every one of our readers to stand up and be counted.

If you really want to stop this project from getting the go-ahead, share the link to the petition on social media, get your friends, family and colleagues to sign hard copies, and spread the word throughout the local community.

If the 10,000-name target is not reached, it will look as though there really isn’t any significant opposition to the rail freight depot, and you can almost guarantee that the land sale will be approved by the county.

There are just four weeks to go until the petition closes, and around 2,600 names are still required. It might seem like a lot, but if we all do our best to raise awareness of the need to get behind this initiative then the target should be easily surpassed.

We’re doing our bit, the rest is up to you. Sign the petition here.