Representation by Jonathan Chadburn
- Date submitted
- 31 May 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
My comments fall into 2 categories Firstly the significant environmental impact this will have on the Fosse Villages, namely Sapcote, Elmesthorpe and Stoney Stanton. This development is of a similar size to this area and will dwarf these villages, fundamentally changing the nature and environment of a significant part of the Hinckley and Blaby Landscape. Not only will large areas of farmland be lost, but the noise, pollution, traffic will adversely affect those of us who live in these villages. My second objection is based on my personal opinion as a Logistics Professional for 35 years, and as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics. Whilst I appreciate the need to move freight from road to rail, simply building a rail terminal because you can does not make it the right strategic decision. The situation of this terminal, will entail rail freight moving into it and then travelling back out on roads in may cases back to where it comes from, actually adding to the amount of freight. Rail Freight terminals should look to move freight from ports long distances to end destinations, simply moving it to the centre of the country to move it out again makes neither economic or environmental sense, which is why I doubt, once built this will be nothing more than another distribution park and will have few if any trains running into it. Freight on trains should move from the southern and eastern ports, direct to the north via train, There are or will be a number of rail freight terminals already in this area, Northampton, East Midlands, Daventry Birmingham, all as far as I can see under-used because they too are doing little to move freight off the road. The A5 corridor from Tamworth to Milton Keynes is saturated with Distribution centres and parks, much of this distributed to the south of England as they are national stockholding centres. The Hinckley centre will just become another series of national distribution centre, or a parcel distribution hubs having no need of the rail infrastructure and adding congestion to the road. The governments national infrastructure plan is not a strategic road map placing the rail freight terminals in the right place, it need more thought about how to join the map of the country together and not to allow development under this national infrastructure cover.