THE residents of Redbourn are preparing once again to fight plans to build a motorway service station in their village.

Just two years after they saw off an almost identical proposal, residents must gear up for yet another battle.

Many are rightly asking why the plans have been allowed to be submitted again when the reasons for rejecting them are just the same.

They do not want this service station, and they do not need it either, because of the proximity of the Toddington site.

In fact, the plans will just increase many of the things that people who live in Redbourn moved there to avoid - namely traffic, noise and pollution.

Once again villagers are being forced to invest their time and money to stop these proposals going ahead, with the memories of their last bitter battle still fresh in their minds.

The group which so successfully fought the plans last time, Redbourn Against Motorway Services (RAMS), may have disbanded. But the dedicated residents who formed it have not gone away and with the benefit of their experience, they can fight these proposals even more conclusively. New applicants Swayfields should be prepared for a long and costly battle.