Aggregates terminal wins planning approval

Barnet Council has approved DB Cargo’s plans to build a new aggregates terminal on railway land at Cricklewood, to support the £4.5 billion Brent Cross housing development.

The council recommended approval of the scheme last year, and final approval was granted on February 8. The terminal includes facilities for road vehicles as well as associated rail infrastructure to support unloading of trains, and will be allowed to operate for a temporary period of 18 months.

Three 1,700-tonne trains will operate into and out of the terminal on Mondays to Fridays, with a maximum of 452 lorry movements per day allowed.

Campaign for Better Transport’s Freight on Rail Manager Philippa Edmunds said: “This planning consent sets a crucial precedent which demonstrates that local authorities should support local rail freight terminals based on the wider national and sub-regional socio-economic benefits of rail freight, as long as there are adequate mitigation measures to handle local impacts.

“Cricklewood rail lands represent one of the few remaining suitable sites with good rail and road connections, where aggregates can be brought into the capital for use in construction projects. The terminal is compliant with national, regional and local spatial planning and transport policy - these operational railway lands have been safeguarded in the Barnet local plans for this purpose for many years.”

Objections from local residents and bodies were largely on the grounds of dust, pollution and noise.