Representation by Mr Steven Bass
- Date submitted
- 11 June 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
I do not feel that there is a need for such a development locally , especially so close to such a small village the impact it will have on our village will be irreversible we have a number of developments within the wider area that are not running at full capacity and have the potential for further development which I believe should be fully explored. The noise that this development will create will be horrific for those that live closest to the proposed development. 24 hours a day 7 days a week , 365 days a year – our lives will be impacted by the constant banging of containers being loaded / unloaded , gantry cranes , reversing horns of HGVS and FLTS, the noise that the trains produce when entering / departing the terminal ( some houses on the close already suffer vibrations from current trains ! ) the awful sound of the line maintenance which prevents any one in the vicinity from sleeping on the nights it takes place. And that is all after we have suffered through the building phase where we will have the noise of the train terminal being built , the gantry cranes being built, the ground works the list goes on…. The light that will be projected out from the development will be significant – the site is 10 times the size of the Calor site in Stoney Stanton and the lights from there can be seen for miles around. We have been provided with very little information regarding the proposed lighting. The light pollution will impact local resident and wildlife significantly. The pollution from such a development will have a detrimental impact on all of the surrounding villages and wildlife – the pollution will increase from the building and construction phase not only from the plant equipment used but the dust created during the construction , the additional trains ( no current planned date for electrification ) the increase in traffic on the surrounding area , the M69 is only a stones throw away from Elmesthorpe so the increase on there alone will reduce the air quality in the village , so with the addition of the increase in traffic on the surrounding area and the vehicle movements on site the air quality in the village will be very poor. Despite the world moving away from Diesel and Petrol engines we are a long way off this actually being a reality and even ‘if’ a percentage of the staff cars were electric there will be a large number that will not be as they carry a hefty price tag and the majority of the workers on site will not be highly skilled and therefore will not be paid a high wage. Electric HGVS are not really something that’s likely to happen in the foreseeable future as they do not have the range required for moving heavy goods , even the Coach industry are struggling to make Electric vehicles viable. I have big concerns over flooding in the local area , Burbage Common Road and the surrounding area are already prone to flooding – I believe this needs to be thoroughly investigated. The current access to Burbage Common is well used by walkers , cyclists , dog walkers , horses and families , it is a lovely peaceful , safe walk . The proposed access will not be of the same quality , the views, sights and smells will all be significantly different , it will be going from open field views to industrial area. I also have big concerns over the road safety in the village , there have been a number of accidents throughout the years involving , cars, motorbikes, pedestrians and horses. With an increase in traffic and no traffic calming in the village the risk of further accidents frightens me , on numerous occasions the bend in the bridge has taken people by surprise , 2 HGVS cannot pass each other on the bridge , the speed at which some traffic goes through the village and over the bridge is alarming at times – there are plans to put an uncontrolled crossing on the B581 as part of the plans to close a Public right of way that runs alongside Bostock Close - to put a crossing in an area that is already dangerous is putting lives at risk . HGVs accessing the site may also not follow the designated routes , if a HGV were to follow the sat nav they may end up in the village and attempting to enter the development via Burbage Common Road , the turning point that is planned for Burbage Common Road will not be big enough for a HGV to turn , resulting in them trying to reverse back out onto the B581 !! and if they run out of driving hours on their Tacho and are not able to get to the Service area in the development then they will have to park up in surrounding areas. I highly doubt that the workforce will be local – I know a large number of coach operators across the country that have contracts with employers to collect / drop off employees to sites similar to that which is proposed , many of which travel up to an hour each way and I feel with local employment being as it is that this will be the case for the HNRFI . The loss of natural habitat for the wildlife is worrying , and unfortunately I feel that giving us an ‘extension to Burbage Common’ will not be sufficient , the building work alone will drive much of the wildlife away and it may never fully return.