Campaigners hope a decision taken by the county council to sell-off the former Radlett Airfield could be overturned if they take it to Judicial Review.

The former airfield is part of a site that has been earmarked for a strategic rail freight interchange (SRFI), for which planning permission was granted by the Secretary of State in 2014.

Earlier this month, Hertfordshire County Council – which owns the site – agreed terms to sell it to developers Segro.

Campaigners who oppose the plan for the interchange say the council’s decision to sell the land is "fundamentally flawed", and are looking to take that decision to Judicial Review.

Cllr Nuala Webb – who is a member of St Albans District Council – says campaigners are already seeking legal advice and have 100 days to lodge an application for a Judicial Review.

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“We think the decision is flawed,” she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

“By going to Judicial Review we hope the outcome will be to stop the sale of the land – and the decision to sell the land will be reversed.

“If the council don’t sell the land then the site cannot be developed.

“It’s a big step to take […] but we think there are good arguments and we have a lot of support from MPs and other people.”

Although Cllr Webb stresses that campaigners are not opposed to rail freight, she says there are real concerns.

And she points to the size of the tunnels that the railway would have to pass through – which she says are not big enough for modern freight wagons.

Instead she says there are fears it would be come an interchange used – for the most part – by lorries and white vans.

Last month a group of Liberal Democrat county councillors  – led by Cllr Sandy Walkington – ‘called-in’ the council’s decision for further scrutiny.

He also argued that the council’s decision to sell the land was "fundamentally flawed".

Council officers had suggested that the council had "no legal option other than to sell the land", following the Secretary of State’s decision to grant permission for the SRFI.

Herts Advertiser: Cllr Sandy Walkington has said he would support a judicial reviewCllr Sandy Walkington has said he would support a judicial review (Image: copyright©garyshore)

But Cllr Walkington had suggested that there were now alternative legal options because of the "substantial changes in circumstance" in the intervening nine years.

Among them he pointed to the "nearly halving" in the use of rail freight between 2014 and 2021 and the "explosive growth of light goods vehicles".

Ultimately the Conservative majority on the overview and scrutiny committee decided the decision should stand.

But Cllr Walkington has welcomed the move towards a Judicial Review.

“I continue to think that this is a disastrous decision for Hertfordshire and its residents,” he said. “And I applaud anything that may put a spanner in the works.”