Report to the Secretary of State for Transport by Andrew Pykett BSc(Hons) PhD MRTPI an Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State for Transport Date: 30 January 2013 TRANSPORT AND WORKS ACT 1992 TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING ACT 1990 APPLICATION FOR: THE CROXLEY RAIL LINK ORDER 201[] AND A DIRECTION FOR DEEMED PLANNING PERMISSION Date of Inquiry: 9-11 and 16-18 October 2012 Ref: TWA/12/APP/01; DPI/M1900/12/10 TABLE OF CONTENTS CASE DETAILS ...................................................................................... 1 1 PREAMBLE....................................................................................... 1 2 DESCRIPTION OF THE SITE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS .......................... 3 3 THE CASE FOR HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL.............................. 5 4 THE CASES OF THE SUPPORTERS ..................................................... 17 5 THE CASES OF THE OBJECTORS....................................................... 18 6 THE CASES OF THE REPRESENTORS ................................................. 29 7 REBUTTAL BY HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL ............................. 30 8 CONCLUSIONS .............................................................................. 36 9 RECOMMENDATIONS ...................................................................... 57 APPENDIX A APPEARANCES APPENDIX B DOCUMENTS SUBMITTED AT THE INQUIRY APPENDIX C CORE DOCUMENTS APPENDIX D ALL REPRESENTORS APPENDIX E WITHDRAWN REPRESENTORS APPENDIX F DRAFT CONDITIONS REPORT TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR TRANSPORT FILE REF:TWA/12/APP/01; DPI/M1900/12/10 CASE DETAILS The Order would be made under Sections 1, 3 and 5 of the Transport and Works Act 1992, and is known as The Croxley Rail Link Order 201[X] (the Order). The direction for deemed planning permission would be granted under Section 90(2A) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, and would be treated as specific planning permission for the purposes of Section 264(3)(a) of that Act. The draft Order was published on 22 December 2011, and there were 55 objections outstanding to it at the commencement of the local inquiry. The Order would authorise Hertfordshire County Council (the Council) to construct and operate a rail link extending the London Underground Limited (LUL) Metropolitan Line from Croxley to Watford Junction via Watford High Street Station. The Order would authorise the acquisition and use of land for the purposes of the works and confers powers in connection with the construction and operation of the railway. The application is jointly promoted by the Council and LUL (the promoters), and it includes a direction as to deemed planning permission for the development. Summary of Recommendations: That the Order is made with modifications, and that deemed planning permission is granted subject to conditions. 1 PREAMBLE 1.1 I have been appointed under Section 11 of the Transport and Works Act 1992 to hold a public inquiry into the draft Order and to report to the Secretary of State for Transport. A pre-inquiry meeting was held on 11 July 2012 (INSP/1), and the inquiry was held at Watford Football Club, Vicarage Road, Watford on 9-11 and 16-18 October 2012. 1.2 I made a formal site visit to the principal sites which would be affected by the proposals on 18 October 2012 accompanied by representatives of both the promoters and the objectors to the scheme. I made a number of other unaccompanied visits to relevant sites during the inquiry. 1.3 There are 12 supporters of the scheme, and 9 who are classified as having made representations. They are recorded on the list of all representations received (Appendix D). 1.4 In response to the application for the draft Order there were 55 objections made, together with 11 letters of support, and a further 8 making representations. Further representations were received before and during the inquiry. By the time the inquiry closed the number of objectors was 64, REPORT TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR TRANSPORT FILE REF:TWA/12/APP/01; DPI/M1900/12/10 with a total of 10 having been withdrawn (Appendices D and E). 1.5 The main grounds of the outstanding objections are focussed on the proposed closure to passengers of Watford station1 and its effect on pedestrians and traffic; the appearance and impact of the proposed viaduct at the western end of the link; the environmental effect of the scheme especially in relation to noise; and the effects on businesses and residential amenity of the compulsory acquisition of land for the construction and operation of the proposed viaduct. 1.6 On 6 June 2012 the Secretary of State issued a Statement of Matters recording those issues about which she particularly wished to be informed for the purposes of her consideration of the Order. A copy of the Statement is attached as APP 35 in the Core Documents (Appendix C). 1.7 The inquiry was conducted under the Transport and Works (Inquiries Procedure) Rules 2004. No objection was made in relation to any legal or procedural requirements in respect of either the above Rules or the Transport and Works (Applications and Objections Procedure) (England and Wales) Rules 2006. 1.8 The application for the Order was accompanied by an Environmental Statement (ES). It comprises Volume 1: Written Statement; Volume 2: Figures; and Volume 3: 18 Appendices. A Non-Technical Summary formed part of the ES (APP 4-10 in Appendix C). 1.9 Before the closure of the inquiry the promoters submitted a filled up version of the Order (Document APP 2 2.2.2 in Appendix C). It is in this form that the promoters request the Order should be made. The changes proposed to the Order have been made to respond to points made by the parties. They include changes resulting from an agreement between the promoters and Three Rivers District Council, concerning the acquisition of compulsory purchase powers over the public open space at Watford Road, Croxley and proposed exchange land at Croxley Hall Wood, Lavrock Lane, Croxley. As a result, the application for an exchange land certificate in relation to the latter land is no longer required and has been withdrawn. 1.10 The remaining sections of the report contain a brief description of the area, the gist of the cases presented, and my conclusions and recommendations. Appendices to the report list those who appeared at the inquiry, the documents submitted before and during the inquiry, a list of those who have made representations, those objections which have been withdrawn, and a list of conditions which I would recommend should be imposed on any deemed planning permission. 1 The station is popularly known as Watford Met station, in order to distinguish it from Watford Junction and Watford High Street stations. In the interests of clarity I refer to Watford Met station in the rest of the report. REPORT TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR TRANSPORT FILE REF:TWA/12/APP/01; DPI/M1900/12/10 2 DESCRIPTION OF THE SITE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS 2.1 To the north-west of the station at Moor Park the Metropolitan Line extends to Amersham, Chesham and Watford. The Watford branch includes two stations – Croxley and Watford Met, where the line terminates. The central area of Watford lies to the east of Watford Met station. It is also served by Watford High Street station (on the existing overground Euston to Watford Junction DC (direct current) line), and by Watford Junction station itself. Watford Junction also lies on the West Coast Main Line between Euston, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow. It also accommodates the branch linking Watford to St Albans (St Albans Abbey station). 2.2 Until 1996 there had been a branch line (Croxley Green Branch) linking Watford Junction and Watford High Street to the south-western parts of Watford, via a station at Tolpits Lane, to the former Croxley Green station where the line terminated. 2.3 The scheme proposes the creation of a link between the existing Metropolitan Line and the disused rail corridor of the former Croxley Green Branch around the south side of south-west Watford. Metropolitan Line trains would then run via Croxley station to Watford High Street and Watford Junction stations. Two new stations would be built along the route – Ascot Road station and Watford Hospital station (on Vicarage Road). The scheme involves the closure of Watford Met station to passengers, but the line itself would be retained for the stabling of trains. The platforms at Watford High Street and Watford Junction stations would need to be extended to cater for longer underground trains. The total length of the new link from the existing Metropolitan Line to Watford Junction station would be 4.8 km. 2.4 The route of the proposed link passes through a heavily developed and intensively used part of Watford. In the west the line would depart from the existing route to the north-west of the Watford Road/Baldwins Lane roundabout. The existing line is on a high embankment and the area is characterised by mixed commercial and residential uses. The line would then pass over a substantial new viaduct bridging Baldwins Lane, Watford Road (part of the A412), the Grand Union Canal, the River Gade, the new Ascot Road and the old Ascot Road. Land in the vicinity of the canal and river lies within the area of the Metropolitan Green Belt. The new Ascot Road provides access to the extensive Croxley and Watford Business Parks, while the old Ascot Road provides access to a hotel and residential uses together with a number of warehouses. The proposed Ascot Road station and car park would be built on land between the new and old Ascot Roads, with the platforms extending to the east. 2.5 The route of the line would thereafter follow that of the disused Croxley Green Branch until it would join the existing overground line to the south- west of Watford High Street station. Between the old Ascot Road and Vicarage Road the route passes through largely residential areas to the north and mixed residential and playing fields to the south.