Opposed to the Park Street rail freight project? Have you signed the petition calling on Herts County Council not to sell Radlett Airfield to developers Helioslough?

All parties on the platform at the meeting are urging local residents to sign a petition opposing the sale of Radlett Airfield to Helioslough.

The petition, which was started before the General Election, already has over 5,000 signatures but getting it over 10,000 means that a debate on the issue is guaranteed.

St Albans MP Anne Main said the range of alternatives for the site had to be considered. She said: “Given its Green Belt status, unless there is a suitable proposal that is likely to be approved, the county will inevitably find itself in a difficult place.”

She added: “I am urging you, if you are a Hertfordshire resident, to sign the petition to have the matter fully debated by the county council. We owe it to St Albans to have the county discuss this matter in full.

“We only have until September to reached the required 10,000 signatures.”

County councillor Sandy Walkington stressed that while the district council had reached ‘the bitter end in terms of the legal route’ the battle was not over and Helioslough could not build until they had posession of the site.

He added: “While some of the landowenrs have grabbed their 30 pieces of silver, the county council still has a crucial slice of the action and must have its backbone stiffened to stand firm in not selling the land.”

Cathy Bolshaw for STRiFE - Stop the Rail Freight Exchange - which has fought the scheme since the outset over a decade ago, thanked St Albans council for their loyalty to the residents of the district in fighting the Helioslough application so doggedly.

She went on: “STRiFE would like to strongly encourage Herts county council that, whilst they have a fiduciary duty to the county of Hertfordshire, they also do have a basic responsibility to preserve the Green Belt and all that that stands for in Hertfordshire.”

To sign the petition click here.