Radlett Aerodrome sale worth £34m heads to High Court

An artist's impression of the rail freight terminal set to be built on the site of a former RAF airfield in Radlett

The decision to sell a former airfield to a rail freight company for £34m will be reviewed in the High Court.

Campaigners have opposed the move by Hertfordshire County Council to sell Radlett Aerodrome to Segro in 2023.

A judge will now decide if the sale was lawful after St Albans: Fight the Freight submitted an application for judicial review.

Hertfordshire County Council said it was confident the sale was "in accordance with all due processes".

The former airfield is part of a site that has been earmarked by the developers for a strategic rail freight interchange.

Campaigners have opposed Segro's plans to build the freight terminal on 1,000 acres of land in Hertfordshire.

While most of the site was sold to developers by private owners, 300 acres was owned and sold by the council.

Campaigners believe the council should have not sold the land as it was bought in 1984 for a nominal £1 fee specifically so that it would be kept as 'open space'.

St Albans: Fight the Freight also believe the sale is covered by the provisions of the Metropolitan Green Belt Act (1938) and the Open Spaces Act (1906).

Since the council's decision to sell the land to Segro, campaigners have raised more than £30,000 to fund their legal costs.

'Absolutely delighted'

St Albans district councillor Nuala Webb, from the Save St Albans: Fight The Freight campaign, says she is "absolutely delighted" by the decision.

She said: "We knew we had the moral high ground, but this is the first time it has been vindicated by the legal system.

"Hertfordshire County Council and Segro had asked for it to be dismissed without merit - that hasn't happened."

The council has repeatedly argued that the decision to sell followed all due process.

A spokesperson said: "We continue to be confident that the sale of the land in Radlett to SEGRO for use as a strategic fright rail interchange was undertaken in accordance with all due processes."

A date for the judicial review, where a judge will review the lawfulness of the decision, has not been set but campaigners expect it to be held in the summer.