Representation by Stephen William Harris
- Date submitted
- 11 June 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
Hinckley/Burbage and the surrounding area has a lack of good quality habitat for wildlife. We have miles and miles of rolling green desert but other than Burbage Common and Woods there is no substantial habitat within walking distance. So for nearly 100,000 people, Burbage Common and Woods are their only opportunity to see a quality habitat that supports 905 species of Flora and Fauna. Who can be certain what specific conditions some of these species need - flowers such as early purple, common spotted or greater butterfly orchids, broad-leaved helleborine, common twayblade or moschatel. Butterflies such as purple hairstreak, white-letter hairstreak or silver-washed fritillary, beetles such as hazel leaf-roller or black clock. Who can be certain that the development won't cause a change in drainage paths, deterioration of air quality or light pollution that means these or any other might not survive? Over recent years, the Wildlife Trusts and other organisations have argued that good areas of habitat need to be linked to provide our wildlife a chance to spread and breed from larger gene-pools. The chance of this ever happening will be lost if Burbage Common is surrounded totally. The Woods and Common have provided me with an escape and an area of tranquility over the last 25 years - it has been of huge benefits to feelings of severe anxiety on 2 occasions in particular. I know many other people feel the same. I am certain the effects would have been diminished with massive warehouses looming over me. I particularly enjoy walking my dog through the woods and over the common on cold, frosty mornings in late autumn and winter. I dread to think what that will be like with lorries being run to warm up their diesel before starting work for the day. Our family has had a Christmas tradition for many years, where we walk on Boxing day from Burbage through the Woods, across the common to Burbage Common Lane and then down the lane to Elmesthorpe for lunch at my wife's mothers house. I suspect that if the last mile of this journey is to be through an industrial estate then this tradition will quickly die. I am surprised that traffic figures that showed it was unsustainable for the construction of a full motorway junction to the lives of the people of Sapcote and Stoney Stanton in the 1970's is now acceptable. Indeed the original scheme has a bypass of these villages that now seems not to be required. This has not been explained to the general public, and seems a massive departure from the exhibitions I attended. The scheme literature promises thousands of jobs (some of the claims seem optimistic to say the least) but the fact is, Hinckley does not need this type of job. If you want to work in a warehouse there are already opportunities to do so. You only have to look at the recruitment firm's adverts to see this. Therefore the jobs must be for people who live outside the area - if you wait outside Hinckley railway station you see people getting off the train to go to the DPD facility. There is nothing wrong with that as a concept, but as all of these developments are on the edge of Burbage and Hinckley there are no benefits to the area other than the odd sandwich van. If there is to be industrial development in the area it needs to be something other than the Logistics industry. Both of my children have left the area to find employment in more rewarding areas.