Protest as rail freight scheme planning process starts

Campaigners have protested against plans for a new rail freight interchange as a planning inspectorate process got under way.

The application for the facility near Ardley, Oxfordshire, includes 6.5 million sq ft of warehouses and a hub to transfer goods from roads to the railway line.

Protestor Philip Norstrand said there were fears the project "has very little to do with rail freight".

The Oxfordshire Strategic Rail Freight Interchange (OxSRFI) said the proposal was "a response to the government's ambitions to maximise the use of rail freight in the supply chain".

As the plan is considered a nationally significant infrastructure project, it is being considered directly by the Planning Inspectorate.

The pre-examination stage began earlier at the Bicester Hotel and is due to last about three months.

The proposed hub includes warehousing covering an area of more than 80 football pitches.

"In reality, it's a Trojan horse for an extra large warehouse estate that developers want to build between Hayford Park and Ardley," Norstrand said.

"Even with the developers' most optimistic assumptions there are three times as many warehouses as will be needed."

The initial application was accepted in April, with the scheme also aiming to deliver improvements to nearby roads.

Norstrand, who lives in nearby Hayford Park, said there had been "absolutely no positive engagement" with local people.

He said: "It's something that has come down from the top and where the developers are deliberately using a process that sidelined the local council."

An OxSRFI spokesperson said the scheme was "the result of an iterative process of design, assessment, consultation and re-design".

They said as part of the design process "an extensive environmental assessment process" had been undertaken, alongside consultations with statutory bodies and the public.

The inspectorate's decision is expected to be made in the new year.