THE council has ignored the damage a railfreight terminal would do to the other locations it claims are more suitable than the Park Street site, would-be developer Helioslough has argued.

In his cross-examination of the council's landscape expert Jonathan Billingsleigh, Helioslough's barrister Martin Kingston has tried to discredit his analysis of alternative sites as he tries to prove the former Handley Page airfield is the best.

Mr Kingston pointed out that the Colnebrook site near Slough, which Mr Billingsleigh has suggested as an alternative, is recognised in planning policy documents as providing an important gap between London and Slough, a factor not reflected in his analysis.

He challenged: “Your approach is not consistent with regard to merging of settlements, is it?”

The witness replied: “It is not consistent, no.”

In a bid to limit the damage done by the cross-examination, the council's barrister Matthew Reed is now re-examining Mr Billingsleigh.